Rich Kids (1979)

Director:

Robert M. Young

Writer:

Judith Ross (written by)

Release Date:

August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

What happens when kids grow up and parents don't?

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

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | First Love | Bath | New York City | Italian Restaurant

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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

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

Company:

Lions Gate Films

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.

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!

Movie Connections:

References Mekagojira no gyakushu (1975)

Soundtrack:

Fast Asleep

Watch This Film for Its Intelligence and Sensitivity, and to See Trini Alvarado at Her Best

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.