Bye Bye Braverman

The description of this movie fails to convey how totally hilarious it actually is, although it gives a partial idea of its bittersweet qualities. Throughout the movie, we see things through the eyes of one of the main characters who keeps imagining his own death. His own pessimistic fantasies contrasted with the absurd predicaments the four friends keep getting into are a riot, and at the same time, convey human frailties most poignantly. There are wonderful cameo performances by Jessica Walter, Alan King and Godfrey Cambridge and others that are worth the price of admission all by themselves. The movie has a distinctly ethnic Jewish sensibility and a real New York feeling as we follow the characters from Greenwich Village to Brooklyn as they look for the funeral parlor for the dead Braverman. Oh, how I wish I could buy this movie on DVD! It's just wonderful. If you ever get a chance to see it, run to the theater!

to me this movie turns the biblical story of the Exodus on its head. Instead of leading His people into the Promised Land, Monroe(Segal)leads His people out of the Promised Land(Manhattan), and into the desert(Brooklyn), and they wander and wander. While there, each character comes to question his faith. The four main characters, assimilated Jews, have abandoned their traditions when we first meet them. Upon their return to their roots(Brooklyn),characters and situations confront them, that force them to look inward at themselves, and what they have become. Listen to the speeches carefully. King's, Cambridges'(brilliant cameo), and don't overlook Segal's at the cemetery addressing the headstones(just beautiful. Strange that this move as released in 1968,at the height of so much turmoil. BBB is an overlooked classic. This movie is so important to me, that when it finally is released on DVD, I will be the first on line to buy it. And, I don't even own A DVD player! But for this movie I might just buy one.

One of the best off-beat movies I've ever seen. The eulogy by Alan King was one of the best that I've ever heard. It reminded me of so many sermons that I've heard on the high holidays: a lot of words in search of a theme.

I am not convinced that "Bye Bye Braverman" is much more than a stage play inside a red Volkswagon. This is all about the dialog, and quite frankly a lot of it is kind of boring. The characters, four Jewish intellectuals, are well developed, but seem very one dimensional. The movie is essentially one long misadventure on their way to a funeral. Godfrey Cambridge as a "Black Jewish cabdriver", and Alan King as a long winded Rabbi, are the most memorable scenes. George Segal is his usual droopy self, and Jack Warden his usual gruff self. Overall the film is a time capsule, that you may or may not want to open, depending on your tolerance for a lot of often times meaningless dialog. - MERK

I am not sure why the hate for this from so many quarters. It seems impossibly authentic, and while not for a funeral, like far too many trips I have taken with friends to get something done, and minor hijinks occur.

The death seems like a Macguffin at first, an excuse to get them rolling, but I think it really changed them, and as (deliberately) insufferable as some of the guys were, there were deep points, and some of them had (minor) revelations about life, death, and what their life means.

But, in the end, you feel nothing horrible or great will happen. It is the stereotypical slice of life story, and will change them all... a little. But tomorrow they will go do their writing, their tormenting their children and wives, and I suspect most of them will go see Randolph Scott and eat split pea soup on Thursday.