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Rich Kids (1979) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   183 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Robert M. Young
Writer:
Judith Ross (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Rich Kids on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
August 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy | Drama more
Tagline:
What happens when kids grow up and parents don't? more
Plot:
Two 12 year olds, the products of Upper West Side broken homes, struggle to make sense of their parents lives and their own adolescent feelings full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
2 nominations more
User Comments:
Watch This Film for Its Intelligence and Sensitivity, and to See Trini Alvarado at Her Best more

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Trini Alvarado ... Franny Philips
Jeremy Levy ... Jamie Harris
Kathryn Walker ... Madeline Philips

John Lithgow ... Paul Philips
Terry Kiser ... Ralph Harris

David Selby ... Steve Sloan
Roberta Maxwell ... Barbara Peterfreund
Paul Dooley ... Simon Peterfreund
Irene Worth ... Madeline's Mother
Diane Stilwell ... Stewardess
Dianne Kirksey ... Ralph's Secretary

Olympia Dukakis ... Lawyer
Jill Eikenberry ... Juilliard Student
Kathryn Grody ... Gym Teacher
Beatrice Winde ... Corine
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Additional Details

Runtime:
101 min | USA:96 min (TV version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:
Stereo
Certification:
Australia:PG | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
New York City, New York, USA

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Part of this was filmed at New York City's Calhoun School. They were extremely cooperative with the shooting. The Calhoun School is a college preparatory institution located in the heart of Manhattan's West Side. more
Quotes:
Franny Philips: They can do anything they want to do, can't they? They can tell us anything, or not tell us anything, and we can't do anything, or say anything! We haven't got one single lousy human right! more
Movie Connections:
References Mekagojira no gyakushu (1975) more
Soundtrack:
You Knock Me Out more

FAQ

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful:-
Watch This Film for Its Intelligence and Sensitivity, and to See Trini Alvarado at Her Best, 11 March 2009
8/10
Author: Sebastian (sts-26) from Canada

Rich Kids is a wonderful movie, in so many ways. It depicts a time (the late 70's), a class, New York City, and divorce (which was then becoming a social phenomena) perfectly. However, the main reason to watch this film may very well be to see the then adolescent Trini Alvarado at her best.

The Cast is full of great actors, including John Lithgow and Canada's own Roberta Maxwell, but the standout is Alvarado. Her guileless and tender performance is so brilliant that one is almost hypnotized. Alvarado plays Franny as your typical adolescent girl - curious, too smart for her own good, a little daring - but lets her own qualities poke through, and makes her Franny seem somewhat frail, potentially tragic.

There is always a sense that Franny will crumble under the weight of bad news (like the announcement of her parents divorce), and in some scenes this sense fills the room. The other actors are electrified by this, and give wonderful performances. The scene in the Chinese restaurant - when Franny's parents finally break the news - is heart-breaking...and a little funny.

This is one of two Alvarado movies that are absolute Must See's. The other is Times Square, in which Alvarado once again plays a variation of the seemingly-emotionally-frail poor little rich girl. Once one sees both these movies, one realizes what a rare quality Alvarado had at the time. The only actress to compare is a young Sarah Jessica Parker, but by the time Parker was an adolescent she was too much of a board-trodding, song-belting, Broadway-trouper type to be able to let go and open herself up the way Alvarado could.

Watch Rich Kids with this in mind: you are watching a brilliant, unencumbered, child actor at work. Pure acting from an adult is rare enough, but from a child actor, it is priceless.

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