Where are Brandon and Kelly?
reviewed Wed, 02 Sep 1998 22:14:46 EDT
Not quite the uproarious comedy the previews would have you
believe, Slums
of Beverly Hills, while very funny, takes a deeper, more
touching
look at a young girl's coming of age in 1970s L.A. Vivian's (Natasha
Lyonne)
family, headed by father Murray (Alan Arkin), has fallen into a pattern
of staying in scummy apartments until the rent is past due, then
fleeing
in the middle of the night to a new scummy apartment, but making sure
to
keep in the 90210 zip code "for the schools" (sort of like Ohn-drea in
"Beverly Hills 90210"). Their luck seems to change when strung-out
cousin
Rita (Marisa Tomei) escapes from rehab and stays with them, with
financial
support from her father (Carl Reiner), Murray's wealthy, older brother.
Vivian, who's been growing up with a father and two brothers, now has a
female role model to teach her about things like depilatories and
vibrators.
When things fall apart, they all realize the importance of family
("awwwwww").
The acting is uniformly terrific. Lyonne is perfect as the
gawky teen
struggling with such side effects of growing up as breasts and the
attention
they bring -- she's wise beyond her years, yet is clearly still a
little
kid. Arkin nails the sad-sack side of Murray, while letting his hopes
and
his love for his kids show through. Vivian's brothers are hilariously
obnoxious,
and Tomei is fun as the flighty Rita, unburdened by any sense of
responsibilty
whatsoever.
I recommend this one -- you'll laugh, you'll cry (okay, not
quite, but
you'll recognize what she's going through, especially if you were once
a teenage girl unsure of just about everything).
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