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.

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.

The viewer who said he was disappointed seems to be wildly missing the point here. This is a superb movie, excellent and realistic portrayals of a middle class Jewish family in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, of long ago. The nuances are perfect and I felt the casting of everyone was superior. I especially found the acting done by Judith Ivey just perfection---especially the speech she has with her daughter when the daughter comes home late one night. That scene was Oscar worthy. But, really, all the acting was fine. I recommend this movie. It is a fun, family film and delightful to see how a lovely middle class family lived in Brooklyn so long ago. See it and you will be glad you did. Has some very funny lines and the Eugene character is a real comedian--very funny.

This is a gently amusing coming-of-age comedy that comes from the later, more mature period of Neil Simon's writing. Although there are plenty of wisecracks to go around, this is not one of those Neil Simon pieces where every character spouts out one-liner jokes for 2 hours like they're guest stars on a Bob Hope special. There are also dramatic elements (some work, some are overkill) that lend some weight to the story.The performances are good across the board, especially Blythe Danner as the mother (although she and Judith Ivey were oddly WASP-ish choices to play Jewish women). I've never been a fan of Jonathan Silverman, but I will say that he hits the right notes as the obnoxious, gawky, and totally horned-up teen-age narrator/protagonist of the story.The movie is very similar in tone to Woody Allen's "Radio Days," but the latter is far more imaginative and funny than this one.