this be a gently amuse come of age comedy that come from the later and more mature period of neil simon write . although there be plenty of wisecrack to go around and this be not one of those neil simon piece where every character spout out one liner joke for 2 hour like theyre guest star on a bob hope special . there be also dramatic element ( some work and some be overkill ) that lend some weight to the story . the performance be good across the board and especially blythe danner a the mother ( although she and judith ivey be oddly wasp ish choice to play jewish woman ) . i have never be a fan of jonathan silverman and but i will say that he hit the right note a the obnoxious and gawky and and totally horn up teen age narrator or protagonist of the story . the movie be very similar in tone to woody allen radio day and but the latter be far more imaginative and funny than this one .