Konterr Brilliant and touching

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

SnoopyStyle It's 1937 Brighton Beach Brooklyn. Eugene Morris Jerome (Jonathan Silverman) is a young Jewish boy who dreams of pitching for the Yankees but probably will be a writer. His aunt Blanche and her daughters live with them after her husband's death. The older daughter Nora wants to be in a Broadway play and the younger Laurie is sickly. His father Jack works extra hard to feed the extra mouths. His mother Kate is in charge of everybody. His older brother Stanley is struggling with his job problem.My main problem with this is that Jonathan Silverman is too old to play this role. He's as tall as Brian Drillinger. I can imagine the lines being much funnier coming from a kid. Coming from a 20 year old, it sounds a bit dumb. Gene Saks's directions are functional. It's the words from Neil Simon that gets a few laughs. It is his play that is touching. The translation to the big screen isn't the best but it still works.

jbartelone I like Brighton Beach Memoirs very much. The pacing of the movie and the character's delivery really draws the viewers into the time period. While Johnathon Silverman's accent may be a bit forced at times, he reflections about growing up in a bitter dysfunctional family are very natural, honest, and direct.Brighton Beach Memoirs balances comic wit with the trails and tribulations of family values without being overly sentimental or preachy. Some sensitive moments are lightened with Johnathon's character, "Eugene's" audience narration. However, the narratives are never forced nor overly done. They really help the viewer see the types of struggles that a depression-era/pre-World War II family might have seen, even if members of the audience might not have lived in that time period.The only critique I have is that Eugene's "sex fetishes" were too overdone and brought the movie down a little bit. These suggested dialogs make the movie inappropriate for children under 13, (It's rated PG-13) I would probably wait until my kids were 15 before letting them see this movie for the suggestive sex dialogs. Note that some are strong, especially in many of the conversations with Johnathon and his brother, Stanly. If you're over 15 and aren't bothered by suggested sex dialog, you will find these scenes to be very funny, as is most of the movie! I enjoyed Brighton Beach Memoirs and would recommend it, even for repeated viewing.

johnhiatt One of my top five comedies ever. You'll appreciate it more if your a guy who came of age in the 1930's-60's. I identify so much with this movie, especially the bathroom scene, when Eugene's 15 year old cousin Nora accidentally walks in on him while he's "on the crapper." This actually happened to me when I was 10, and let me tell you there is no worse horror for a boy at that age. Eugene worries that his life was over, as I did. I also remember my first time seeing a picture of a naked woman. A very tame pose by today's standards, but like Eugene, there was a sense of relief that the quest was finally over. No more was it just the occasional breast shot, I too had seen "The Golden Palace of the Himalayas." Jonathan Silverman's running narration is hilarious and really makes the movie for me. Well worth the investment time-wise, IMO.

Kat Miss "Brighton Beach Memoirs" is a very disappointing movie. How disappointing? Instead of leaving the theater with a smile on your face and a tear in your eye, you leave moody and depressed. This is not how one is supposed to feel after seeing a comedy.This is the film version of one of Neil Simon's very best plays. On stage, it is full of energy, wit and spunk. On film, or at least this film, it's all very flat, like day old cola.One major problem is the casting. Jonathan Silverman is all wrong as Eugene Jerome. He's too willing to play Eugene in Jerry Lewis style. There's nothing wrong with Jerry Lewis style; I happen to love that style of comedy. But that approach just doesn't work for this play. A better choice would have been Matthew Broderick (who played Eugene on stage and ironically was cast in Biloxi Blues)As Eugene's mother, Blythe Danner is one-dimensional. WHAT????? Blythe Danner one-dimensional in a movie? God, I wish I was joking. There is nothing sadder than to see an actress who is capable of bringing so much passion to a maternal role (The Great Santini, Man Woman and Child, The Invisible Circus)struggling to find this character. The only one who more or less gets the job done is Judith Ivey as Blanche. She plays it exactly the way it should be: subtle yet passionate. She goes all out in her performance. It's all for naught.Do I blame Neil Simon? Not at all. The material was there to begin with and it's one of the best plays I've ever read and performed (in my acting class). Do I blame Gene Saks? Not completely. Saks is a very capable director with some good films behind his belt (Mame, The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park; the latter two being two of the best Neil Simon adaptations made so far). But here, his direction is lackluster; I don't know what happened, but he fails to make this material work as well as it did on Couple and Barefoot. Maybe studio interference? Just asking.The photography is murky and dark. I know they were trying to recreate a long gone era, but sheesh, this isn't film noir. A little brightness can go a long way.Forget about "Brighton Beach Memoirs". You'd be much better off watching a high school or community revival than seeing this cinematic travesty. * (out of 4 stars)