Biloxi Blues (1988)

 Biloxi Blues (1988)


Mike Nichol’s Biloxi Blues is a fun time. It is not The Graduate or Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but it is a breezy, light film that benefits from a charismatic Matthew Broderick performance and another exceptional, wacky screenplay from Neil Simon. After the release of Full Metal Jacket the year prior, it seemed to be a surprise that another film about basic training was released so soon. Simon, being the type of screenwriter/playwright he is, took a more light-hearted approach to this story. As a result, we get some funny scenarios that truly made me chortle.

This story was based off Neil Simon’s own experiences of his basic training stint during World War II. One could be forgiven if the story plays out like any other movie with similar ideas, but is that not reality? Like any of Simon’s plays or movies, he is able to incorporate some social commentary behind the zaniness. For example, Simon tackles culture clash. Broderick’s character is from New York and heading to a Mississippi training camp where his New York Jewish background clashes with the vastly different southern culture. There are definite laughs to be had here as I believe everyone can relate. In addition, I really found the scene where Broderick ate army food for the first time to be hilarious. If anyone knows what army food tastes like, then you can understand the reactions. Just little stuff like that makes this movie fun to watch. And anytime Christopher Walken graces us with his presence is also a joy.

Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick) is a New York City teenager. He enlists in the army and is sent to a training camp in Biloxi, Mississippi. Like many teenagers from this time, they want to proudly serve their country during the waning years of World War II. That said, Eugene believes his time in camp will be a piece of cake. He did not expect to encounter the sadistic Sgt. Toomey (Christopher Walken) who is borderline crazy and fellow recruits most of whom are less than nice. Through his boot camp experience, Eugene learns about the hardship of war and understands what it is like to feel in love thanks to Daisy (Penelope Ann Miller). Despite these hardships, he tries to maintain his sense of humor to get him through even the darkest of times. Before he leaves camp, he needs to survive Toomey.

The performances are solid enough. Matthew Broderick is a charismatic presence, and he adds a nice blend of comedy to a role that is often played to death. Same with Mr. Walken. While the crazy drill instructor is a role that grows old fast, Walken injects a different kind of energy. Walken brought his own experiences into the role and played him as a “nice guy.” In other words, he does not need to scream to instill fear in the cadets. The best kind of drill instructor, don’t you think?

Overall, I thought Biloxi Blues was a fun movie about basic training. Yeah, it is predictable and does not have anything new to say. But it is an entertaining diversion that allows us to see directing genius Mike Nichols play around with the autobiographical words of famed playwright Neil Simon. On top of that, we are blessed to see Christopher Walken and Matthew Broderick banter with each other while providing some effective social commentary. As I said before, it is no Full Metal Jacket. But it does not need to be.

My Grade: B+

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Image
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” Ah, wise words from our new young friend, Ferris Bueller. In John Hughes’s 1986 film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , all Ferris wants to do is take a day and have fun. That is the most simplistic theme the movie has. You can go deeper, but the main takeaway is that it is okay to have fun. That is a motto I have taken to heart. I really loved the film. People consider The Breakfast Club to be Hughes’s best and most important movie. That’s a fine statement to make, but I would personally rank the film number two behind this particular one. The teen characters are instantly relatable, it has a memorable antagonist for the children, and this is basically a thirty-year-old travel guide for Chicago. Just how Woody Allen creates his movies as love letters for New York, this is applicable for John Hughes. A Chicago love letter!   Like all of his films, Hughes wrote...
Read more

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Image
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) The James Bond franchise is one of those franchises that will never die. It has been going strong since the first movie rolled out in the early 1960’s, and new James Bond movies are still produced today. What makes this series unique is they use multiple actors to play the titular character over the years. They all bring their own gravitas to the role, and each Bond is a different man when compared to each other (although the martini, shaken not stirred and the beautiful women among other things remain a constant.) So my first James Bond review for this blog is 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me. This wasn’t my first look at the series, but it was my first look at the older movies. I really liked what I saw. This is an old-fashioned story that combines a spy drama and an action-packed war movie into one package. Like many of the older Bond movies, the story can get borderline preposterous. The cheesiness of the plot did come to grow on me after awhile, even...
Read more

Table for Five (1983)

Image
Table for Five (1983) I can guarantee that ninety percent of my readers here have not seen this tear-jerking melodrama 1983’s Table for Five , yet alone heard of it. Hopefully after reading my kind words, you will be somewhat intrigued by this movie. When doing my research for the film, I was shocked to see how vastly underrated the movie is. There are only a few reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, hardly any information on Wikipedia or Google-hardly anything out there in this vast Internet landscape. Then, why on earth is this movie so good? Sure, maybe some folks will say the movie is just a predictable Lifetime TV movie, but honestly it is much more than that. There are some elements that makes this film seem destined for the television at times, but to me it is much more than that. I consider the movie to be an honest, emotional portrayal about fatherhood and family. Directed by Robert Lieberman, this film is about a man named J.P Tannen (Jon Voight) who fails at being fathe...
Read more