Biloxi Blues (1988)
Eugene, an aspiring writer from Brooklyn, is drafted into the US Army during the final months of World War II. For his basic training, the Army sends him to Camp Shelby in Mississippi, where toil, bad food, and antisemitic jibes await. Eugene takes refuge in his sense of humor and in his diary, but they won't protect him in a battle of wills with an unstable drill sergeant.
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Very well executed
Just what I expected
This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
I admit right off the bat to not being a fan of Matthew Broderick. I personally didn't think even think that "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" was that good. I admit he was in some pretty bad films like the 1998 "Godzilla". Here, I think it's probably his best role. I'm not counting the voice of Simba from "The Lion King". The movie's plot is pretty basic, with a guy joining the military and meeting all these weird characters along the way. It seems like there were a lot of military movies made in the 1980's. As this was a movie I knew little about, I was surprised to find it classified as a comedy. I mean, it honestly works better as a serious drama. The film co-stars Christopher Walken, who is as good as ever in this movie. Broderick plays a guy named Jerome, who really does seem realistic. I like how he talks about what happened to everybody at the end of the movie. It might not have much action, but it doesn't need to. ***
Matthew Broderick enters military bootcamp for WW II. Will he survive or will he die laughing? Combine Matthew Broderick with director Mike Nichols and what do you get? A fun and feelgood war comedy. Broderick and Nichols are both known for their heartwarming comedian qualities. Movies with either one of them in it will give you characters on screen that are very loveable and funny. It is not slapstick though, the acting is serious, the issues are serious, but the characters are so endearing and humanly clumsy themselves that they provide the comic relief. This style is typical for the acclaimed director Mike Nichols who has won several oscars for best picture and directing during his magnificent carreer. Where Matthew Broderick is responble for the fun part of this movie, a drill sergeant played by Christopher Walken takes care of the heavy drill stuff. Walkens role is what gives "Biloxi Blues" it's balls. This drill sergeant's character is really to be feared, the man is on the edge of losing his mind. He oozes unpredictabillity. Combine that with the cute puppyface character of witty Matthew Broderick and you have got an ideal conflict for continueously funny jokes.Now this is suppose to be a movie about training soldiers, heavy stuff normally, but not so this time. It has got the feel of a holiday camp. There are only boyscoutish funny trainingscenes in America itself to be seen, no fighting whatsoever. There is even a lovely interlude of budding romance (swooping dancescene) with penelope ann miller in her younger years. It is a 12 years and older movie, very laidback and funny, with some romance mixed into it and along the way in a casual tone some serious issues like race, sexuality and peer pressure are being raised.
RELEASED IN 1988 and directed by Mike Nichols, "Biloxi Blues" concerns a group of recruits going through Army boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi, as World War II is still raging. Matthew Broderick plays the main character while Corey Parker appears as his Jew friend. Christopher Walken plays the eccentric drill sergeant.This is a fairly entertaining talky drama with light comedic touches. The boot camp seems kind of laid back compared to real life, particularly the trainees' relationship with the drill sergeant. (I was in Marine boot camp forty years later and it was totally strict with no leave on the weekends until a single weekend near the end of the three months; and, even then, it was limited to the base). As usual, Broderick makes for a likable protagonist while Walken is entertaining in an off-kilter kind of way.Park Overall plays a prostitute in an awkward (but realistic) sequence while Penelope Ann Miller appears as a potential girlfriend for our hero. It's cool seeing the latter when she was so young and fetching.THE FILM RUNS 106 minutes and was shot entirely in Arkansas. WRITER: Neil Simon from his play.GRADE: C+ (5.5/10)
The film is spoiled by the last 20 minutes.Otherwise, Neil Simon's writing is at its best as he describes Eugene Jerome's experiences in the army during World War 11.Simon etches out some real characters in this film that shows that bonds are possible between guys in wartime, even when there is religious and racial prejudice involved.It is a film declaring the coming of age of youth as Jerome loses his virginity and uses his talents as a writer to describe his experiences.Christopher Walken shines here as the brutal sergeant who gets the men to hate the 2 Jewish guys in the outfit. He lets Jerome and his buddy decide who will get the bad things to do. It is when Walken goes berserk at the end that the film goes awry.