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.
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.