On this day, December 25, 1986, Brighton Beach Memoirs, the film adaptation of Neil Simon’s acclaimed play, was released in the United States. Directed by Gene Saks, the movie stars Jonathan Silverman as Eugene Morris Jerome, a young boy growing up in 1930s Brooklyn and navigating family life, adolescence, and his dreams of becoming a writer. The film captures the charm and wit of Simon’s semi-autobiographical story.