Review of Biloxi Blues

It is difficult to believe that there is such a thing as the 'service comedy'. Well, there is and this film is one of them. What anybody could find remotely funny about being drafted into the army puzzles me, but it takes all kinds to make a world. The story concerns a young man from New York who is drafted and how he has to spend his time with a bunch of misfits in boot camp in Biloxi, Mississippi, where it is very hot and uncomfortable. He learns how to be a soldier and is meant to be 'grown up' by the end of his experiences. The film is written by legendary playwright Neil Simon but I have been lukewarm toward his other work and I found no reason to change my mind after seeing this film. I just sit here scratching my head thinking 'why' but his plays and movies are popular and have made a lot of money, so who am I to argue?

Matthew Broderick plays the lead role of the young military novice but the only thing the film really has going for it is the presence of Christopher Walken as a psychotic drill sergeant, who makes Broderick's, and everyone else's life a nightmare with his somewhat strict adherence to the rules of combat in peacetime. Walken is a great actor and he makes a meal of his part, turning the sergeant into a monster who gives no quarter and doesn't receive any. At least I thought that at first, but somehow, through the process, the audience becomes sorry for him, despite or because of the fact that he is a total psychotic.. A few of the supporting players turn in good work but, this is forgettable, and something to be recommended only for people who like movies about the army. Whoever and wherever they may be, this is for them