Watch Brighton Beach Memoirs For Free

Waste of time

Please don't spend money on this.

Best movie ever!

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Whether the actors are really Jewish or not, these are some of the most forced Brooklyn/Jewish accents in Hollywood history. The way they spread the schmaltz around it's downright unbearable. Blythe Danner in an unbelievably poor piece of casting, lumbers her way through the part of the Jewish mother like a shiksa doing the horah. The mess of bad interpretations is practically racist. It made it impossible for me to stick with it. Oy gevalt! Avoid this piece of work at all cost. On the other hand if the play comes around to your local theater, go see it--there it works! Neil Simon always works best in live theater anyway, Yep, that's it.

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.

"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)

One of my favorite movies. Great cast, lead by Jonathan Silverman and Blythe Danner. Serious drama situations with brilliant comedic punches. An exact mixture of character and story. Real people with real problems, and everyone has a different relationship with each family member. Sensitively moves from slightly-sad to hilariously-funny. Read the quotes. This is the best adaptation of a Neil Simon play.If you wanna see more of Eugene check Biloxi Blues (starring Matthew Broderick who played in both stage versions) is OK, a bit on a darker side. Get away from the made-for-TV Broadway Bound.