Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Tamara Jenkins

Writer:

Tamara Jenkins (writer)

Release Date:

14 August 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Never judge a girl by her address.

Plot:

This semiautobiographical story follows a lower-middle-class teenager (Lyonne) and her neurotic family in 1976 Tinseltown.

Plot Keywords:

Breasts | Nursing School | Sexual | Black Comedy | Nurse

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Natasha Lyonne	...	Vivian Abromowitz
Alan Arkin	...	Murray Samuel Abromowitz
Bryna Weiss	...	Saleslady
Marisa Tomei	...	Rita Abromowitz
Charlotte Stewart	...	Landlady
Eli Marienthal	...	Rickey Abromowitz
David Krumholtz	...	Ben Abromowitz
Kevin Corrigan	...	Eliot Arenson
Brendan Burns	...	Cop in Station
Harris Laskaway	...	Charlie the Cook
Jessica Walter	...	Doris Zimmerman
Mena Suvari	...	Rachel Hoffman
Marley McClean	...	Brooke Hoffman
Mary Portser	...	Mrs. Hoffman
Jock MacDonald	...	Man at Brymans

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual situations, nudity, language and drug content.

Runtime:

91 min | Argentina:92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:6 | Canada:14A | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Singapore:R(A) | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The film was going to be financed by the American Playhouse company but then it went out of business. The former head of Playhouse, Lindsay Law, became head of Fox Searchlight and was able to set this project up there.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In Vivian's two nude scenes, her breasts are obviously (different) body doubles. The breasts of the doubles differ greatly from each other, in terms of size and shape. Also, her face is never shown during these scenes.

Quotes:

Murray Samuel Abromowitz: Who the hell is that on your shirt?
Eliot: Charles Manson, sir.
Murray Samuel Abromowitz: Okay...
[to family]
Murray Samuel Abromowitz: Your sister gets the bedroom.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Riches: Slums of Bayou Hills (#2.4)" (2008)

Excellent and original family drama

Natasha Lyonne stars as a teenage girl growing up in various slums in Beverley Hills, but her family cannot necessarily afford to live in them. After moving around for most of her life, her family's finally found a place to call home with help from her uncle's money. The catch is that they have to watch after their troubled daughter (Marisa Tomei) and make sure that she makes a transition from drugs to a career worthy of their name.

That's not spoiling so much, I don't think, because the movie has much more depth than that. This very original drama/comedy features a great, universal struggle of living without proper means and making life work. It's a coming-of-age film for Lyonne's character who sees the beginnings of her womanhood, struggles of relationships, and maintaining her family's name and reputation through whatever means possible.

It's really touching how the Abromowitzes handle themselves and make each others' experiences memorable. The aging father (Alan Arkin) is truly memorable in this film for his struggles in finding out an end to poverty and loneliness without his wife. A great film altogether, not very long (only about 1 hr. 30 min), and easy to watch all the way through. Definitely a buy on DVD (even if the special features aren't all that special). I gave it an 8/10.