Review of Biloxi Blues (1988) by Rj M — 12 Aug 2009
The second chapter in Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical trilogy finds his alter ego, Eugene Jerome, on his way to boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi during the waning days of WWII. It's at boot camp that he meets Sergeant Toomey, played by none other than Christopher Walken.
Walken is one of the most intimidating screen presences in film history, and casting him as a "my way or the highway" drill sergeant is nothing short of genius. We're also introduced to a host of interesting characters in the form of Eugene's fellow recruits.
That abundance of great characters also brings to light the movie's problem...the main character, Eugene, is the least interesting of them. Matthew Broderick gives a fine performance as Eugene, but he's given very little to do.
We never learn anything new about him, and his character doesn't really grow by the time the movie is over. All of the other characters are given sides to their personalities that are revealed at various times of the movie, and the come across as real, and well rounded.
Even the prostitute that Eugene loses his virginity to is more memorable than he is. Broderick also narrates the movie, and it's through there that we are given our only insight in to who he is, and what he's learning about the world, and himself.
But thankfully we have all of those other characters, and their quirks an dilemmas that carry us through. Funny, with just the right touch of drama, it's one of your better boot camp movies.
This review of Biloxi Blues (1988) was written by Rj M on 12 Aug 2009.
Biloxi Blues has generally received positive reviews.
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