Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

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:

Cousin | Nursing School | Breasts | 1976 | Flashing

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 1954 hit song "Papa Loves Mambo" by Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra is featured in the trailer.

Goofs:

Continuity: The address of the apartment complex where they stay is around 12000, but from the street the address is 425.

Quotes:

Eliot: [looking at his backseat] There's blood. Do you still have your period?
Vivian: No, I would've warned you.
Eliot: What just happened here?
Vivian: ...Let's just get dressed.
Eliot: Are you telling me I popped your cherry?
Vivian: I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. I just wanted to get it over with. No ceremony.
Eliot: That puts a lot of pressure on a man. Did you think of that? Did you think of me? You know what this makes me? A criminal. On 2 counts! Devirginizing a minor.

Movie Connections:

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

Nifty Little Movie That Never Got Much Attention

THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS (3 outta 5 stars) I figured this was going to be just another silly movie about the trials and tribulations of spoiled rich kids in Cali. Actually it's a pretty good coming-of-age story circa 1976. Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) has just grown breasts and now considers herself deformed. Her dad (Alan Arkin) is a divorced man of almost-retirement-age who has never been able to provide a stable home for his kids and keep dragging them from place to place like nomads (and presumably keeping one step ahead of bill collectors). One brother is a struggling actor and the other is too young to really fit in anywhere. In a desperate attempt to make ends meet Arkin takes in his troubled 29 year old niece (Marisa Tomei), charging his rich brother a fee for keeping an eye on her. So they all move into a small, cheap Beverly Hills apartment block and try to cope. Very funny moments... punctuated by some heavy drama and some unexpected twists. One of the better roles that Alan Arkin had had in recent years... proving that he hasn't lost his touch as he's gotten older (unlike many other comic actors of his generation). I have never been much of a fan of Marisa Tomei but I liked her a lot in this movie. The scenes of her and Lyonne conversing in their "secret language" are priceless!