Rich Kids (1979)

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

Director:

Robert M. Young

Writer:

Judith Ross

Stars:

Trini Alvarado, Jeremy Levy, Kathryn Walker

2 nominations.

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 (as Bea Winde)

Storyline

Two ultra-precocious Upper West Side twelve-year-olds, Franny and Jamie, are best friends. Jamie, the "new boy" in town, has experienced his parents' divorce and guides his friend Franny in the art of surviving her own folks' imminent split. Franny senses the divorce because she has been secretly watching her father arrive home at 5:00 every morning and pathetically try to brush off (to his wife) and hide (from his daughter) the fact that he has been away all night. She is down in the dumps and finds a kindred spirit in her buddy Jamie, whose mother and father split up long ago. He points out the advantages of being a "child of divorce" - and is so persuasive that he almost convinces himself as well as Franny. When Franny connivingly convinces her parents to let her go to a sleep-over with Jamie, they explore their budding curiosity for the opposite sex. When Franny's mother finds the book "The Joy of Sex" in her daughter's bedroom and discovers that her daughter has deceived her, ...

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | sleep over | new york city | italian restaurant | diary | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gazdag kölykök

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lion's Gate Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 96 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Did You Know?

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.

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Quotes

Ralph Harris: [asking about his son's weekend with Franny] So how was it? How was it before they scraped the floor?
Jamie Harris: Neat!

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Connections

References Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)

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Soundtracks

"Hot Love in a Minute"
Composed by Craig Doerge
Lyrics by Allan F. Nicholls (as Allan Nicholls)

User Reviews

Divorce as seen through the eyes of two 12 year olds

They know their IQ's are near genius. They know that the capital of Kansas is Wichita. They know where Mom hides `The Joy of Sex'. But they don't know why their parents have all split up.

This modern look at adolescence rings sad but true. The `Rich Kids' of the title are smart in all of the commonly accepted ways and they are smart enough to realize that there is more to love than what they can see in their parent's sad relationships. In many ways it's the kids in this film that are acting like adults. Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps the `Rich Kids' of the title are not the two adolescents at all, but the adults that are complicating their lives.