What is it about a man in a uniform which can set a girl weak at the knees?

An adage perhaps, but there’s something magical about the thought of a handsome sailor waltzing into your place of work and sweeping you off your feet.

Although in my case, any sailor would have to ensure he’d had his Weetabix (or at least a hearty portion of spinach) before even attempting that move.

After enjoying the iconic 1982 film An Officer and A Gentleman starring Richard Gere and Deborah Winger as a fresh-faced teenager, I was looking forward to my trip to the Bristol Hippodrome to revisit those days, although it’s fair to say both Gere and I have a few years on the clock since then.

The musical An Officer and A Gentleman is based on the award-winning film where Zack Mayo (Luke Baker), a young somewhat troubled seaman looking to realise his dream of flying navy jets, arrives for training in Washington, USA.

After a series of run ins with fierce gunnery sergeant Emil Foley (Jamal Crawford), Zack, who by this point has his white navy uniform pressed and ready – wins his liberty for the weekend, meaning he can tour the bars with his somewhat haphazard fellow officer candidates.

It is in one of those bars he meets pretty brunette Paula Pokrifki (Georgia Lennon), a training nurse, desperate to escape the drudgery of working in a factory.

You know what happens next as it always does in these kind of stories, right? Their eyes meet across a crowded room. And yes, you can pretty much guess the rest.

But the path to true love is never easy. Even for a handsome young naval officer with his buttons shined with Brasso.

Baker puts in a strong performance as fearless Zack, delivering strong vocal performances to a set of 80s classics, from his soulful performance of Bon Jovi’s Blaze of Glory to his duet of Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is alongside lovestruck Paula.

I loved the 80s. It was a great era for music for a former wild child with rock anthems that will never age.

But part of me questioned the musical score, although admittedly it contained some absolute bangers. It was almost as if the directors looked at a back catalogue of 80s music and just picked what they thought could fit.

My theatre buddy also commented that the whole show – although the original movie was filmed across the USA – was just TOO Americanised with the accents of the cast being overpowering at times.

And the musical itself? For me it just lacked the special dose of magic needed to bring a classic love story such as this truly alive.

That said, this talented group of performers can really sing.

Melanie Masson as Paula’s mother Esther Pokrifki provided the audience with some stand out moments, as did Paul French who really nailed down his character as Mayo’s fellow officer candidate Sid Worley.

His performance of Family Man following his decision to leave the officer training programme after being rejected by girlfriend Lynette Pomeroy (Sinead Long) was particularly powerful and well executed.

Jamal Crawford was impressive as ruthless gunnery sergeant Emil Foley. If he told me to drop and do 20 I would (if I could that is)

His fierceness was peppered with just the right droplets of humour at the right time, which brought many laughs to the audience.

One character I would have liked to see more from was factory worker Aunt Bunny, played by Wendi Harriott. It’s a shame she – and her amazing, soulful voice  -  didn’t have a bigger presence on stage.