Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A lot of fun.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A strong story about a family in crisis is transformed into a tepid parody of what is supposed to be a Jewish family. The movie has several problems. First, the casting. There is no way that Blythe Danner can pass herself off as a Jewish-Brooklynish mother. She is completely miscast. Second, the Eugene Jerome character has to be one of the most obnoxiously unfunny adolescents in the history of cinema. Not only is he nasty, he is a pervert too, as the movie shows. Third, the staging of the story fails to convey the family's desperate financial straits. That is, the family does not seem as poor as the story suggests. Fourth, the interpersonal issues, which are the strong points of the story, are resolved in a way obviously meant to ensure that the movie has an upbeat ending. The conflict between the two sisters is intense and quite dramatic, yet its resolution is pure schmaltz as their mutual anger inexplicably evaporates. But perhaps the worst feature of the movie is the treatment of Eugene's brother who is the most complex of all the characters. His issues alone could have been the basis of a great movie. Instead, he is relegated to being a straight man for the unfunny Eugene. That the brother, who is a troubled young man, returns to a home housing the likes of Eugene Jerome is proof of movie company can take a perfectly good story and turn it into pulp.

I starred as Eugene Morris Jerome in my high school adaptation of the play and this film definitely doesn't live up to the script or the imagination of Neil Simon. I know this play backwards and forwards and I can honestly tell you that the acting was off, The production was cheesy. The changes in the play's script were poorly done. If you want to really enjoy this play you should see the actual play, not a Hollywood movie adaptation. The Eugene character lacked soul and was overly sarcastic in all he said. The other characters were off key as well. A general disappointment, messy, disloyal to the play, amateurishly executed!

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.

Brilliant! Eugene is just like any 15 year old boy. Silverman comes out with some very funny lines with his mother : 'Theres a bone in my throat' 'THERE ARE NO BONES IN LOVER!' And when they are sat at the table at dinner Voice over-'The tension was so tense i would of cut my wrists but the liver had blunted the knifes'So if you haven't seen this film go and see right now.Go and search for and see the golden palace in the himalayes!