SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS
Reviewed by Harvey Karten, Ph.D. Fox Searchlight Director: Tamara Jenkins Writer: Tamara Jenkins Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Alan arkin, Marisa Tomei
An ingenious mixture of (so to speak) broad comedy and poignance, "Slums of Beverly Hills" works as both a heartwarming ode to the joy of family living and screwball comedy; not untypical ingredients in a teenager's coming-of- age tale. With an old pro like Alan Arkin anchoring the story as the down-on-his-luck father of three kids who love him just the way he he is, "Slums of Beverly Hills" avoids the laugh-a- second genre of TV sitcom. Instead it provides a deeper, more solid account of a month or so in the life of a 14-year-old whose dad will try anything to secure for her a good education and favorable role models. The movie is well cast with Marisa Tomei in one of her usual madcap role with Natasha Lyonne ably matching Ms. Tomei's considerable talent.
The story is told from the point of view of the 14-year-old Vivian (Natasha Lyonne), a perspective that might both amuse and surprise people who haven't a clue what it's like to be a 14-year-old undergoing physical and emotional changes. Vivian is obsessed with her breasts, which--as her 65-year-old dad, Murray (Alan Arkin) comfortably points out--seem to have sprouted overnight. The revelation is that she considers her bosom too large, despite the advice of the matronly saleswoman in the bra store who assures her, "Breasts are wonderful; you'll see." Vivian's family--which includes her older brother Ben (David Krumholtz) and her kid brother Rickey (Eli Marienthal), are always on the move. Since their dad's auto dealership has never been really successful, they are forced to move out regularly in the middle of the night to stay a step ahead of the landlord. To allow Vivian to take advantage of the excellent school system of Beverly Hills, Murray makes sure to reside in the town--but in shabby, one- bedroom quarters with fancy names in rooms that seem held together by Scotch tape.
Murray's big chance comes when his rich brother Mickey (Carl Reiner) asks him to board Mickey's drug-addicted and wild daughter, Rita (Marisa Tomei). The 28-year-old, secretly pregnant woman is destined to introduce her innocent cousin Vivian to the meaning of womanhood, their connection best brought out by the movie's most hilarious scene, a Dionysian dance which the two take part in while tossing a running vibrator between them. Also doing his part to introduce Vivian to sex is her neighbor Eliot (Kevin Corrigan), a nice chap who happens to sell pot for a living (not uncommon in California in 1976).
Tamara Jenkins, who wrote and directed the movie, does well in showing the parallel needs of Vivian's 65-year-old dad, a divorced man who is also concerned about his sexuality and seeks to form a liaison with a prim and proper friend, Doris (Jessica Walter). Their alliance is unlikely to be a happy one, as shown in one scene, a dinner party, in which Doris shrieks when she discovers that Vivian has ruined the needlepoint cover on her chair when Vivian's period begins without warning.
Nothing is particularly new about "Slums of Beverly Hills," but splended performances particularly by Alan Arkin, Natasha Lyonne and Kevin Corrigan make the picture a welcome addition along with "Home Before Dark" to your repertory of coming-of-age entertainments.
Rated R. Running Time: 91 minutes. (C) 1998 Harvey Karten
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews