The Slums of Beverly Hills Review
by "David Wilcock" (david DOT wilcock AT btinternet DOT com)November 22nd, 1998
Slums of Beverly Hills
Starring Alan Arkin, Natasha Lyonne and Marisa Tomei.
Directed By Tamara Jenkins.
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes.
(Fox Searchlight)
Appearing from nowhere, Slums of Beverly Hills turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Lyonne plays teenager Vivian, who hates her large breasts. We join her and her family during their adventures in the 'slums' of Beverly hills (those two floored apartment buildings.) Adding some spice to the drama Tomei who plays tearaway Rita who's just escaped from a rehab clinic and lives with Vivian, her dad Murray (an excellent Arkin) and two brothers Ricky and Ben (Eli Marienthal and David Krumholtz.) Also joining in the fun is Eliot (Kevin Corrigan) their Jewish neighbour.
Although Slums is nothing more than another coming of age, it is a well made and funny one. Jenkins, who both directed and wrote the film, has bought to the screen a wonderfully witty, poignant film that is very hard to dislike. Although nothing much really happens in the film as a whole, many of the individual vinaigrettes are funny, and very truthful. Jenkins based much of this film on her own experiences, and it shows. None of the scenes seemed force, the whole movie feels natural. And many are downright hilarious. A scene involving an vibrator had the whole cinema doubled over (even if the punchline was obvious) and their are various other jokes in the film that raise laughs.
The cast are also excellent. Lyonne brings an intense honesty to her role, and Tomei delivers an excellent performance as the dizzy Rita (even better than her performance in My Cousin Vinny.) Kevin Corrigan is highly memorable as the intellectual Eliot, and the two brothers are also very good. The best performance goes to Alan Arkin, however, as the bald headed, stressed out father. His very natural handling of his character makes him shine through, he has a gentle honesty about him.
While the acting and events are well realised, there are some flaws with character development and plot. Sadly, the plot is very threadbare, it seems more like an collection of sketches loosely tied together. And although the characters are all likeable, they seem a little stereotypical. Jenkins tries to develop the characters, but it comes off a little cliched, which is a little disappointing. The movie never really strays away from the coming of age formula.
Still, with the excellent performances, the funny jokes, and a bouncy music score, it is very hard to dislike the movie. While there are problems with the plot and character development that can be hard to ignore, the honesty and humour of the film nearly wins through. Jenkins has delivered a promising debut: let's hope she can work on the flaws for her next movie.
RATING=***1/2 OUT OF *****
A David Wilcock Review ©1998
DAVID WILCOCK
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