Eric Stevenson
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. ***
Wuchak
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)
g-bodyl
I never thought Biloxi Blues would be endearing or compelling it turned out to be. In fact, I thought this would be a major rip-off of the first half of Full Metal Jacket, but with zany comedy. I see some similarities between the two, but thankfully Biloxi Blues turned out to be it's own film. This is more of a character study, a story about growing up only with the setting in the military. It's often funny and each character is instantly memorable thanks to the wonderful performances.Mike Nichol's film is about a Jewish teen from Brooklyn named Eugene Jerome who travels to Mississippi to serve in basic training for the army during the latter years of the second World War. Along the way, he has encounters with his tough sergeant named Toomey, his platoon, and his first love in Daisy.This role was designed perfectly for Matthew Broderick. He has many hilarious scenes and has several dramatic ones as well. Christopher Walken was just awesome here. He brings something new to the role of the tough drill sergeant. I was reminded of the "bad cop, good cop" routine, but with just one person.Overall, Biloxi Blues is a worthwhile adaptation from Neil Simon's play. It's funny, poignant, and clever. The jokes are well-placed and some will have you gasping for breaths. But let me say that this is not a war film, because you'll be incredibly disappointed. If you're looking for one, don't even bother watching this and watch Full Metal Jacket instead. I rate this film 9/10.
writers_reign
Although it forms the second part of a semi-autobiographical trilogy Neil Simon's Biloxi Blues is sufficiently self-contained to stand alone as a bildungsroman. Having seen it in context on the stage - it takes up the story of Eugene Jerome (Neil Simon) a year or so after Brighton Beach Memoirs, which dealt with his teens in Brooklyn, just as the final play, Broadway Bound, covers his post-army career and attempts to establish himself as a writer - I think it's fair to say that whilst I had prior knowledge of his alter ego I could just as easily have watched Biloxi Blues cold and derived the same satisfaction. Director Mike Nichols begins the action on the train carrying Jerome and fellow ex-boot camp conscripts to Biloxi where they will be whipped into shape prior to being shipped overseas (we are in the closing months of World War Two) so that Jerome's back-story is no more viable than any of the others. Although the film boasts two 'marquee' names in Mathew Broderick (note two 'christian' names as in Neil Simon) and Christopher Walken it is actually an ensemble piece with each of the largely unknown platoon members contributing equally to what is a hugely enjoyable movie.
AD
