Rating: 
Summary: A long time waiting...and finally...
Review: One of the best Broderick films of his career and Christopher Walken is amazing. It's been a long time waiting for this DVD and finally it's here. As a fan of the first film (Brighton Beach Memoirs) I would have liked to see Jonathan Silverman continue the role of Eugene but he still looked too young at the time to make the part convincing. Buy this DVD, you won't be disappointed (comment based on movie itself, hopefully the DVD transfer will hold up to expectations).
Rating:
Summary: The one-liners continue..
Review: The "next" installment in the life of Eugene Morris Jerome is FINALLY here. The native New Yorker, Eugene is shipped out to boot camp during WWII and winds up deep in the South - Biloxi, Mississippi. His writer's "instict" kicks into full throttle as he negociates his way through all the physical and mental challenges boot camp offers. Far away from his hysterical family in Brighton Beach...Eugene is surrounded with an equally
dys-FUN-ctional crew of fellow privates. Neil Simon's clever dialogue and Matthew Broderick's phenomenal performance make this movie a great follow up to Brighton Beach Memoirs!
Rating:
Summary: The one-liners continue..
Review: The "next" installment in the life of Eugene Morris Jerome is FINALLY here. The native New Yorker, Eugene is shipped out to boot camp during WWII and winds up deep in the South - Biloxi, Mississippi. His writer's "instict" kicks into full throttle as he negociates his way through all the physical and mental challenges boot camp offers. Far away from his hysterical family in Brighton Beach...Eugene is surrounded with an equally
dys-FUN-ctional crew of fellow privates. Neil Simon's clever dialogue and Matthew Broderick's phenomenal performance make this movie a great follow up to Brighton Beach Memoirs!
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Films Ever
Review: This film goes down as one of my all time favourite comedies. The humour is infectious but is also tampered with the sombre realities of war, a great balance made. I actually saw this film for the first time just weeks before enlisting for national service (a small coincidence of course). The cast was absolutely perfect & all characters had great chemistry throughout the film. It gave the impression that they must have had a ball of a time during filming. Christopher Walken is hilarious but then again so was everyone else in the wacky platoon. All in all, aside from the somewhat plain looking cover which doesn't do the film justice at all (especially the terribly lacklustre intro), it is a highly recommended film.
Rating: 
Summary: Coming of Age
Review: This is a good movie and I feel secure in giving it a 4 Star rating. The writing is as good as you would expect from Neil Simon and the acting fits in at about the same level. It is the story of a group of young men entering Boot Camp in the waning months of WWII. The movie starts out awkwardly on a train ride taking the young men to their new home deep in the south. There didn't seem to be any rhythym to the interaction of the men. It wasn't until after the movie that I realized that the writer and/or director probably wanted us to see it that way. After all, these men did not know each other and they were, thus, more uncomfortable being in the setting than we were watching it. Arrival at Boot Camp introduces us to the Sergeant (played excellently by Christopher Walken). He becomes, for most of the movie, the villan and what a villan he is. Four or five men of the platoon become the focus of the rest of the movie. The main one is obviously the Neil Simon character played well by Matthew Broderick. A fellow Jewish soldier named Epstein plays an interesting role and the others fit into the standard army camp fellows. There is a "rite of passage" extended scene in which the Broderick character loses his virginity to a local professional. Many will come away enjoying this scene as well as any other in the movie. The subject of death comes up at one point and five of the men vote on who has the best idea of how they would spend their final few days. Another soldier joins in the contest later on in the movie. This becomes significant because we discover that two of the men's fantasies come true in the movie. There are social issues that arise and are dealt with (somewhat) that help put some extra meaning into the film. There is a climatic scene that gives a level of suspense to the movie. In the end, the soldiers depart on a train in much the same uncomfortable interaction that they came in with. All and all this movie is time well spent. Those who have been in the military will get special meaning from this, I would guess. I have seen this movie rated 5 stars and I decided to view it after reading an old review that was pretty enthusiastic. My only question to those that rate it 5 stars is, "What, then, do you rate a truly great movie when you've already given the top rating to this very good movie?" One final note: I was surprized to read the PR notes on the cover of the VHS version I saw. The reference to romance seemed to have been written by someone who didn't see the movie. In addition, the events were listed as taking place in 1943. This was a major error in that the movie actually takes place in 1945 and the war in the Pacific ends before the men finish basic training. Thus the "What happens to..?" part at the end refers to civilian jobs the men later take rather than a list of casualties.
Rating:
Summary: Coming of Age
Review: This is a good movie and I feel secure in giving it a 4 Star rating. The writing is as good as you would expect from Neil Simon and the acting fits in at about the same level. It is the story of a group of young men entering Boot Camp in the waning months of WWII. The movie starts out awkwardly on a train ride taking the young men to their new home deep in the south. There didn't seem to be any rhythym to the interaction of the men. It wasn't until after the movie that I realized that the writer and/or director probably wanted us to see it that way. After all, these men did not know each other and they were, thus, more uncomfortable being in the setting than we were watching it. Arrival at Boot Camp introduces us to the Sergeant (played excellently by Christopher Walken). He becomes, for most of the movie, the villan and what a villan he is. Four or five men of the platoon become the focus of the rest of the movie. The main one is obviously the Neil Simon character played well by Matthew Broderick. A fellow Jewish soldier named Epstein plays an interesting role and the others fit into the standard army camp fellows. There is a "rite of passage" extended scene in which the Broderick character loses his virginity to a local professional. Many will come away enjoying this scene as well as any other in the movie. The subject of death comes up at one point and five of the men vote on who has the best idea of how they would spend their final few days. Another soldier joins in the contest later on in the movie. This becomes significant because we discover that two of the men's fantasies come true in the movie. There are social issues that arise and are dealt with (somewhat) that help put some extra meaning into the film. There is a climatic scene that gives a level of suspense to the movie. In the end, the soldiers depart on a train in much the same uncomfortable interaction that they came in with. All and all this movie is time well spent. Those who have been in the military will get special meaning from this, I would guess. I have seen this movie rated 5 stars and I decided to view it after reading an old review that was pretty enthusiastic. My only question to those that rate it 5 stars is, "What, then, do you rate a truly great movie when you've already given the top rating to this very good movie?" One final note: I was surprized to read the PR notes on the cover of the VHS version I saw. The reference to romance seemed to have been written by someone who didn't see the movie. In addition, the events were listed as taking place in 1943. This was a major error in that the movie actually takes place in 1945 and the war in the Pacific ends before the men finish basic training. Thus the "What happens to..?" part at the end refers to civilian jobs the men later take rather than a list of casualties.
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