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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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.
It is a romantic, nostalgic look at an era gone by while capturing the innocence of youth. Walken is TERRIFIC in it, and all of the characters are developed throughout the movie. One of my favorite all time scenes in any movie is the scene where Jerome and Rowena are in the bedroom. I laughed out loud when I first saw it because you can so readily identify with the emotions that Jerome is feeling as he tries to figure out how to sort of lay down with her. That is a perfect example of what I mean when I say the movie really captures the innocence of youth. You will be disappointed, however, if you think that this is a war movie, as it uses the army as more of a backdrop to highlight the coming of age story. I agree, how can this movie be rated only a 6.4/10?
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.
This is a fantastic movie that you will want to watch again and again. The story is perfect, the cast is perfect and the acting is perfect. A coming of age story that combines young recruits from all different sections of life that have come together and now have to learn how to live with one another as they go through the rigors of boot camp. Neil Simon always knows how to combine that perfect blend of realism, a comic touch and something you can identify with into everything he writes and makes you feel so comfortable in his story because you feel you're in the story. He makes you want to be become a writer. This is what makes Neil Simon unique. If only every movie could be written this well. This is what great Hollywood film-making is all about.