Slums of Beverly Hills

Rating:
Summary: just PASSING thru......
Review: While not exceptionally deep, this low-key, slice-of-life, coming-of-age comedic drama effectively captures an era and asks the question, "What is life about?" without overexplaining and insulting our intelligence. It's not overly commercial like most movies of its type that rely heavily on old music and other material things to recreate the past; it has the right balance of essential elements that prevent it from being a cariacature. "Slums of Beverly Hills" shows that even the so-called small, imperfect life can be beautiful and grand through the fascinating people and experiences in our memory that make us feel alive. It was especially nostaligic for me, being born and raised in California where the story is set; the seventies just aren't the seventies unless your're right where it happened. What holds it back from being a great film is (in the face of stark realism) rather unconvincing dialogue and responses, a reality tv tendency to fall back on toilet humor, and the characters' complete overall lack of emotional growth.

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, funny, and wise
Review: This is without a doubt one of my favorite movies. Natasha Lyonne gives a sensitive, hysterical performance as a girl coming of age in less-than conventional circumstances. A realistic story with first-class acting, lots of laughs, and a spectacularly awkward take on growing up female in America.

Rating:
Summary: A COMEDY THAT'S NOT THAT FUNNY
Review: ...or maybe it isn't meant to be funny? At any rate, if there's a reason to applaud this critically acclaimed indie, it's the performance of Natasha Lyonne in the focal role of Vivian.
Lyonne captures to a tee the ultimately frightening world of being a teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. Lyonne hits all the right notes, whether it's in lamenting her enormous boobs (a gag that gets old after a while) or exploring her cousin's vibrator (a remarkable scene with no dialogue that conveys the innocence of youth and shows what a fine actress Lyonne is). Alan Arkin lends good support as her father, but his performance is too one note to show us the real anguish he is feeling. His scene with Oscar winner Marisa Tomei in which he tells her how lonely he is is handled very well. Jessica Walter is around briefly as the new love interest in Arkin's life, and she does a beautiful job too. Tomei is adequate, but not entirely believable. Carl Reiner and Rita Moreno make a brief but memorable appearance as Tomei's parents.
All in all, this is a tender slice of life dramedy, but I wish it had been a little funnier.

Rating:
Summary: Arkin, Tomei, Lyonne, Reiner... you can't go wrong.
Review: I liked the fact that this movie, although laced with sexual themes and R-rated humor, is ultimately about a father who loves his kids and kids who love their father. And even the scenes of ribald humor and sexuality are mostly character-driven and kind of sweet. Well acted, funny, and quirky, "Slums of Beverly Hills" is a great little movie to discover on DVD.