Biloxi Blues
Universal Pictures | Release Date: March 25, 1988 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews
Positive:
9
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
EmpireWilliam Thomas
The combination of Neil Simon and Mike Nichols has the pair of them back to somewhere near their best. Read full review
80
The New York TimesVincent Canby
Biloxi Blues, carefully adapted and reshaped by Mr. Simon, is a very classy movie, directed and toned up by Mike Nichols so there's not an ounce of fat in it. Read full review
75
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
Perhaps this movie isn't as wise or as profound as Simon wants it to be, but it is certainly a cut above sitcom complacency, and packed with wit and charm. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
Biloxi Blues works better than the script alone would suggest, thanks to the skillful direction of Nichols and excellent performances from Broderick and Walken. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneDave Kehr
Biloxi Blues also wants to be a confessional, coming-of-age memoir, but again, it works better around the edges than it does in its central conception. Read full review
75
Tampa Bay TimesHal Lipper
Biloxi Blues is sweet, nostalgic and readily forgettable. But it is entertaining. And in this case, that's all that is required. [25 Mar 1988, p.7]
70
Los Angeles TimesMichael Wilmington
Nichols gives the piece a funny, fragile somber mood that works almost completely. Read full review
70
Washington PostRita Kempley
Overall Nichols, Simon and especially Broderick find fresh threads in the old fatigues. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldBill Cosford
It's little more than an amiable exercise in nostalgia, but it's nicely performed and handsome to look at. [25 Mar 1988, p.C1]
60
VarietyStaff (Not Credited)
Biloxi Blues is an agreeable but hardly inspired film version of Neil Simon's second installment of his autobiographical trilogy, which bowed during the 1984-85 season. Even with high-powered talents Mike Nichols and Matthew Broderick aboard, World War II barracks comedy provokes just mild laughs and smiles rather than the guffaws Simon's work often elicits in the theater. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneGene Siskel
Film demands more realism than the theater, and Simon's script is very lightweight as are the outdoor additions to the story. Only Christopher Walken takes a chance with his droll drill instructor role. But it's not enough to save a dismal film. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Jay Scott
Army life sugar-coated in self-serving memoir. [25 Mar 1988]
50
NewsweekJack Kroll
Simon shies away from the more interesting implications of his own growth in favor of ingratiating his audience. This weakens the movie versions even more than the original plays. [04 Apr 1988, p.72A]
40
Time OutStaff (Not Credited)
The new recruits have standard issue hilarious-style problems - route marching, press-ups, food, the local brothel - but most of all they have psychotic, cruel-to-be-kind drill sergeant Walken. Why Walken plays him so dulcet and limp is beyond comprehension. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Biloxi Blues may indeed be based on memories from Neil Simon’s experiences in basic training during World War II, but it seems equally based on every movie ever made about basic training, and it suffers by comparison with most of them. Read full review
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