Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989)

The widow's houseboy and the divorcee's chauffeur bet on which will bed the other's employer first.

Director:

Paul Bartel

Writers:

Paul Bartel (story), Bruce Wagner (story)

Stars:

Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey, Mary Woronov

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Clare Lipkin
Ray Sharkey	...	Frank
Mary Woronov	...	Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian
Robert Beltran	...	Juan
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Peter
Wallace Shawn	...	Howard
Arnetia Walker	...	To-Bel
Paul Bartel	...	Dr. Mo Van De Kamp
Paul Mazursky	...	Sidney
Edith Diaz	...	Rosa
Rebecca Schaeffer	...	Zandra
Barret Oliver	...	Willie Saravian
Jerry Tondo	...	June-Bug
Susan Saiger	...	Kelly
Michael Feinstein	...	Self

Storyline

The story of this social satire and soap parody follows two rich white upper class families living in Beverly Hills, California. Recently widowed Claire is a once popular sitcom star, who dreams of a Hollywood comeback. She and her daughter Zandra are not very close, even though they live in the same house, so she turns to her best friend Lisbeth for comfort. Lisbeth is a socialite with her own set of problems. Her alcoholic husband Howard left her for another woman. Her son Willie is terminally ill and hopelessly in love with Zandra, who doesn't even notice him. Lisbeth's poor playwright brother Peter is in love with Claire, even though he just got married in Vegas to sassy To-Bel, a woman he barely knows. Meanwhile, Claire's houseboy Juan and Lisbeth's bisexual chauffeur bet on which of the two will seduce his cougar boss first. Several other plot points make things even more complicated. It turns out that To-Bel has a secret past. The ghost of Claire's husband Sidney starts ...

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Plot Keywords:

bikini | killing a dog | dog | sex comedy | bet | 

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Taglines:

Just another weekend of shameless sexual adventures, ill-fated romance, and accidental death.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Barret Oliver's final role before his retirement from acting.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Clare Lipkin: On earth, as it is in heaven, Give us this day, our daily bread, And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us, Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For thine is the Kingdom and the power...
Zandra: Mother, how much longer do we have to have Daddy at the table?
Clare Lipkin: And the glory...
Dr. Van Kamp: It is pushing it, Clare. Sidney's been dead a week already.
Clare Lipkin: For *ever*. Amen.
Dr. Van Kamp, Zandra, Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian: Amen.
Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian: Now, leave Clare alone.
Clare Lipkin: It's so hard to let go. To say goodbye.

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Crazy Credits

After the introductory credits the following can be found: 'for L.B. who might have smiled'

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield (1996)

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Soundtracks

Piano Music
(uncredited)
Music by Melissa Verde

User Reviews

Bartel satire soap

In the ritzy Beverly Hills neighborhood, Clare Lipkin (Jacqueline Bisset) is a widower haunted by the ghost of her husband. She and her daughter Zandra don't get along. Her friend Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian (Mary Woronov) moves in as her home is getting fumigated. Lisabeth's brother Peter (Ed Begley Jr.) arrives for a visit with his new bride To-Bel. Juan (Robert Beltran) works for Clare and he's in debt to unsavory characters. Lisabeth's driver Frank suggests a different way to make money and then makes a bet with Juan on being the first to bed their employer.

Paul Bartel is a specific kind of filmmaker with his cast of actors, Woronov being his primary partner in crime. This is a social satire black comedy. Only I didn't laugh once. There are too many characters. It's an intertwining ball of sexual desires. The acting is deliberately broad and quite frankly deliberately bad. It gets tiring to watch so much deliberate fake acting that it becomes hard to distinguish from real bad acting. Rebecca Schaeffer's murder soon after the release also leaves a dark shadow hanging over this movie. This bundle of soapy interconnected mass of people holds no appeal. It's not surreal enough to be outrageous. It's not comedic enough to be funny. The social satire isn't sharp enough to bite. Bartel is not for everybody and in this case, it's not for me.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

A játék neve: Beverly Hills

Filming Locations:

366 S. Hudson Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$25,635, 4 June 1989

Gross USA:

$2,156,471

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,156,471

Company Credits

Production Co:

North Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color