Brighton Beach Memoirs

The film presents a nuanced, positive portrait of a Jewish family in Brooklyn in the late 1930s. All of the characters are White except for a Black coworker of Stanley's who doesn't get any lines. (He exists only to show how Stanley is a good person, standing up to a racist boss.) There's a generational clash between Blanche and her daughter Nora. Blanche is traditional and seeks approval from the male head of household on all decisions, while Nora is independent and seeks to forge her own path. There's a stereotypical drunk Irish character.

Breasts are visible in a National Geographic magazine. Lots of talk about sex and masturbating; a sibling assures the main character that "everyone whacks off." As Eugene struggles through puberty, he's obsessed with breasts -- or the "golden palace of the Himalayas," as he calls them -- and with seeing his cousin Nora and older neighbor naked.

"S--t" is used a few times, and "f--k" is used once.

Negatively-portrayed characters smoke. A character is referred to throughout the movie as "a drunk" and is shown leaving a bar intoxicated. (Consequences are shown for his behavior and the main characters strongly frown upon drinking.)