Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Gene Saks

Writers:

Neil Simon (play)
Neil Simon (screenplay)

Release Date:

25 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Meet Eugene Jerome and his family, fighting the hard times and sometimes each other.

Plot:

Eugene, a young teenage Jewish boy, recalls his memoirs of his time as an adolescent youth. He lives with his parents...

Plot Keywords:

Jewish | Adolescent | Masturbation | Great Depression | New York

Cast

Jonathan Silverman	...	Eugene Morris Jerome
Blythe Danner	...	Kate
Stacey Glick	...	Laurie
Lisa Waltz	...	Nora
Judith Ivey	...	Blanche
Bob Dishy	...	Jack
Brian Drillinger	...	Stanley
James Handy	...	Frank Murphy
Bette Henritze	...	Mrs. Murphy
Steven Hill	...	Mr. Stroheim
David Margulies	...	Mr. Farber
Fyvush Finkel	...	Mr. Greenblatt
Kathleen Doyle	...	Mrs. Laski
Alan Weeks	...	Andrew
Marilyn Cooper	...	Woman in Street

Also Known As:

Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:15 | Australia:M | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Rastar Pictures

Trivia:

Blythe Danner's daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow, played in the movie Two Lovers (2008) which was also set in Brighton Beach.

Quotes:

Jack: [after not getting the family's radio to work] Who's been touching the radio?
[shoots a glare at an innocent Eugene]
Jack: Eugene! It's about Poland, damn it! I don't anyone touching this radio when I'm not home. Is that clear?!
Eugene: Guess who's gonna get blamed for the war in Europe!!

Movie Connections:

Followed by Broadway Bound (1992) (TV)

Brigton Beach Memories-Brooklyn Can't Get Better Than This ****

Blythe Danner and Judith Ivey deliver wonderful performances here as Jonathan Silverman, as Eugene, recounts his life in 1937's Brighton Beach.

What makes the film so good is the relationships among the characters with a backdrop of extremely wonderful family values.

Bob Dishy had a marvelous opportunity here as the father of the clan. He gives a restrained but compelling performance as the patriarch of the family.

His sons played by Jonathan Silverman and Brian Dillinger are fabulous. There are certain scenes when Silverman is skating or hopping where I'm reminded of Jerry Lewis.

As for Danner and Ivey, they too are wonderful. Their mannerisms, intonation and idealism of the Jewish culture are beautifully realized by them.

The cinematography is just wonderful. Beautiful Brighton in 1937! Even as the inevitability of war loomed, the film is rich with many of the typical problems faced by families in that period. In a sense, you don't have to be Jewish to experience what the family is going through.

A must see for nostalgic buffs, and those of us who believe so strongly in family values.