Broderick acts with a beautifully wary exuberance, full of a puckish vulnerability and anxious, twisted impishness.

The combination of Neil Simon and Mike Nichols has the pair of them back to somewhere near their best.

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.

Biloxi Blues manages to explore so much yet by doing so little. In many respects, not a great deal happens, but you get such a flavor for young Jerome's journey into adulthood, as he navigates his way around is own enlisting into the United States Army.