i must have seen a different film!!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Eugene Jerome (Matthew Broderick) is a year out of high school and joining the Army in 1945. He is sent to basic training in Biloxi, Mississippi with various characters. There are the brutes like Wykowski, a brainiac Epstein, and the tough drill Sgt. Toomey (Christopher Walken). Jerome wants to write and has to survive this unstable collection of people.The Neil Simon script is quirky and cute. It comes off as a little light weight when compared to all the other great military training movie. There are every stereotypes in the book. The protagonist Eugene is sarcastic smart mouth. Epstein is a super effeminate Jew. Every character is a 3 word descriptive cartoon. There is only so much that director Mike Nichols can do with this Neil Simon recollection of his wartime life.

Neil Simon's ingratiating boot camp comedy suffers in translation from stage to screen from lackluster direction, murky photography, and a general air of tired over-familiarity. Except for some updated concessions to jaded viewers (raw profanity, some homosexual persecution, the inevitable encounter with a local prostitute) it might almost have been made during the same era it depicts (the latter days of World War II), with only Christopher Walken's sensitively rendered psychotic drill sergeant breaking free of its traditional stereotype. All the expected coming-of-age complications are trimmed and well-fitted, if needlessly reinforced by far too much voice-over narration by Simon's alter ego Matthew Broderick, and the undercurrents of rosy nostalgia are (thankfully) kept in check, making the film a pleasant excuse for idling away ninety minutes on a slow afternoon.

It is a romantic, nostalgic look at an era gone by while capturing the innocence of youth. Walken is TERRIFIC in it, and all of the characters are developed throughout the movie. One of my favorite all time scenes in any movie is the scene where Jerome and Rowena are in the bedroom. I laughed out loud when I first saw it because you can so readily identify with the emotions that Jerome is feeling as he tries to figure out how to sort of lay down with her. That is a perfect example of what I mean when I say the movie really captures the innocence of youth. You will be disappointed, however, if you think that this is a war movie, as it uses the army as more of a backdrop to highlight the coming of age story. I agree, how can this movie be rated only a 6.4/10?

A wonderfully entertaining film. Everything seems to be in it's place. The only thing that one could grab at as being off somewhat, are some of the Simon jokes/funnies, which tend to sound too dated, corny or ill fitted. One must take into consideration on that point that this is a film and a story of an earlier time. A period piece and a script from quite a few years ago. Because of some of the tried for laughs, it seems that none of the Simon plays as they stand or the adaptations for screen will stand the test of time. A bit of re working on the script/dialog would help immensely Even with that BIG flaw that sticks out like a sore thumb, this film is wonderful. One might refer to or call these imperfections in the dialog,New York City Corn. Being form New York City myself, perhaps it's just the way it plays to me, but I doubt it. Most of today's viewers would have the same problem with some of the lines.The characters could not be more interesting or endearing. The scenes are right on track as one follows the other in perfect harmony. The acting and casting is superb with standouts being just about all of the main characters. Christopher Walken continues to take command. But it's also the great by play and perfect casting of his buddies of all religious persuasions that are just as marvelous. Terrific performances by Matt Mulhern, Corey Parker, Park Overall, and of course Matthew Broderick are all great. A perfectly cast movie I would say. Everyone was terrific but what stands out so nicely about this work is that we don't want the relationship that Simon creates between our beloved characters to ever end. There is always a Bully right? Matt Mulhern is cast as the lovable, honest, Bologna sandwich slamming cretin. Yet he is wonderful in the part he plays, and becomes my favorite. Then their is the enigmatic, always unearthly Christopher Walk en who endears himself to both the audience and to his boys that he makes into pretty good soldiers.The interplay between the different characters is what makes this work so well. There really isn't a single one in the group that we don't end up liking, at least to some degree. I really think this is where Simon's genius lies, what makes his plays so popular, so likable. We like both Oscar and Felix (opposite personalities) in the Odd Couple, right? Well, despite mostly minor bickering some major which is predictable among a bunch of guys from mostly different backgrounds and religions, in Biloxi Blues, the guys end up liking each other. They even end up realizing that St Toomey is a good guy. They understand that he is raking them over the coals in order to save their lives if and when they are shipped over seas during WWII The adventure really doesn't leave much out. Matthew Broderick goes through all or most of the adventures that we would expect. I found myself easily fitting into the group as the same kinds of things happened to me as I was growing into manhood. Somehow they grow together, they move threw some of life's more difficult moments as young men. In the end, Simon's or should I say Sgt. Toomey's bunch makes it, and we love it. I kept thinking that they really didn't have a care in the world. It was of course, a time of great anxt and worry as the guys wondered what in the world would ever happen to them. However, I couldn't help but go along with Broderick at the end, when the war is over, when none of the guys is actually sent over seas to fight. He states to the affect that as he looks back (narrating in talk over), it was the best time of his life that he seemed to bond with every one of those guys.I was surprised to find that there is no Sound Track available of any kind. Yet, the choice of songs, taken from the era, the WWII songs some refer to as a wonderful time for Romantic Tunes are perfectly placed throughout the film. I gave this movie a 10 despite the mentioned imperfections because it simply is one piece of great entertainment, and every time I decide to watch it again, it brings me home, home to the comfort of those great characters that I just love to watch and hear.