Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)

★ 6.6 1h 48m 53 votes IMDb

Comedy

Eugene, a young teenage Jewish boy, recalls his memoirs of his time as an adolescent youth. He lives with his parents, his aunt, two cousins, and his brother, Stanley, whom he looks up to and admires. He goes through the hardships of puberty, sexual fantasy, and living the life of a poor boy in a crowded house.

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Cast

Jonathan Silverman as Eugene Morris Jerome Age 59 · Los Angeles, California, USA Jonathan Elihu Silverman (born August 5, 1966) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in the comedy films Brighton Beach Memoirs, Weekend at Bernie's, and its sequel Weekend at Bernie's II....

Blythe Danner as Kate Age 83 · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Blythe Katherine Danner (born February 3, 1943) is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow..

Stacey Glick as Laurie Age 54 · Brooklyn, New York, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Stacey Glick is a former American child actress who was born December 29, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York. Her most prominent roles came in the late-1980s in the...

Lisa Waltz as Nora Age 64 · Limerick, Pennsylvania, USA Lisa Waltz is an actress..

Judith Ivey as Blanche Age 74 · El Paso, Texas, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and director..

Director Gene Saks

Cast Jonathan Silverman, Blythe Danner, Stacey Glick, Lisa Waltz, Judith Ivey, Bob Dishy, Brian Drillinger, James Handy, Bette Henritze, Steven Hill

John Chard 7/10 Sep 14, 2019

I have seen the Golden Palace of the Himalayas. Puberty is over! Onward and upward!

Brighton Beach Memoirs is directed by Gene Saks and adapted to the screen from his own play by Neil Simon. It stars Jonathan Silverman, Blythe Danner, Judith Ivey, Bob Dishy, Stacey Glick, Lisa Waltz and Brian Dillinger. Music is by Michael Small and cinematography by John Bailey.

This is the first of what would become a trilogy of films detailing the adventures and learnings of Neil Simon's life trajectory. His alias in the three productions comes in the guise of Eugene Morris Jerome, here played by Silverman, and by Matthew Broderick in Biloxi Blues (1988) and Corey Parker in Broadway Bound (1992). This is set in 1937 Brooklyn, New York, and finds Eugene, a Polish-Jewish American youngster experiencing sexual awakening in a family home packed to the rafters.

Having never seen a Neil Simon play before I have no frame of reference, either here or with Biloxi Blues, the latter of which is a personal favourite. So taking it on its filmic terms only, it delivers much of the requisite razor sharp humour that was a trait of the hugely talented writer. The young version of Eugene here has sporting dreams as well as that of being a professional writer, his literary bent evident in his vocal discourse with his family and us on the fourth wall. He's the family gofer, a slave to his adoring but firm handed mother, as if battling the on-set of puberty wasn't taxing enough!

Though primarily humourous in narrative drive, the serious side of family values is always a strong current within. Gambling addiction also features, so to does vivid sibling rivalry later in life, while the dangling thread of Polish family members trying to exit their homeland for a better life in New York strikes a poignant chord. I can't vouch for accents or adherence to natural race standards, but the sense of the period and areas (real location filming of course) is impressive - the cast uniformly tight to the material's various themes.

Obviously not for everyone, but for those not bothered by closeness to the play, and those who love the sort of zingy dialogue found in other Simon film adaptations, then this hits the spot for sure. 8/10