Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)

Slums of Beverly Hills is cooky and touching.The good. Interesting story with a number of surprising twists. Well paced scenario. Nice acting. Funny with a touch of drama. On a totally different vibe from most other productions.The actors. Natasha Lyonne uses her rebellious nature to great effect. Alan Arkin plays the dysfunctional father just right. Marisa Tomei is sweet and totally perfect as the problematic child.The bad. The secondary characters, like the brothers, could have used a little bit more depth. The editing is a bit awkward when it comes to breasts shots, obviously done so they could use body doubles, no subtlety.The ugly. Nothing.The result. An offbeat film that is great for those who like the genre, but would probably be disappointing to the masses.

"Slums of Beverly Hills" is a movie that captured me right from the start, for several reasons. The hapless characters are all very likable and often painfully realistic, you side with them immediately even if you barely know them yet. This is mainly because the movie is so well-acted, especially Natasha Lyonne gives a very inspired performance and manages to make even the weaker material work. The dialogues aren't always that great, but the occasional poor line doesn't really affect the gritty realism this movie thrives on so much. It's rough around the edges, and that's probably why people appreciate this to such extent. It also passes by very smoothly, everything gels together well even though there's barely a story to speak of (and whatever story there is never gets resolved anyway). It's still really compelling for reasons you can't quite figure out. "Slums of Beverly Hills" is one of those movies that prove you can make something great with no money, because good ideas are totally free. Awesome movie.

The cast and vignettes in "Slums of Beverly Hills" are better than the totality. Natasha Lyonne is particularly good, switching from dead pan comedy to poignant and she is warm chemistry with Alan Arkin as her dad.The ending trailed off. As a person behind me pointed out, if they're staying in Beverly Hills for the school district, how come they're never in school?If you're collecting coming of age movies (or Kevin Corrigan movies) it's worth seeing, like "Manny and Lo," another, better indie movie about virtually parentless teens and how they cope.(originally written 9/12/1998)

Natasha Lyonne stars as a teenage girl growing up in various slums in Beverley Hills, but her family cannot necessarily afford to live in them. After moving around for most of her life, her family's finally found a place to call home with help from her uncle's money. The catch is that they have to watch after their troubled daughter (Marisa Tomei) and make sure that she makes a transition from drugs to a career worthy of their name.That's not spoiling so much, I don't think, because the movie has much more depth than that. This very original drama/comedy features a great, universal struggle of living without proper means and making life work. It's a coming-of-age film for Lyonne's character who sees the beginnings of her womanhood, struggles of relationships, and maintaining her family's name and reputation through whatever means possible.It's really touching how the Abromowitzes handle themselves and make each others' experiences memorable. The aging father (Alan Arkin) is truly memorable in this film for his struggles in finding out an end to poverty and loneliness without his wife. A great film altogether, not very long (only about 1 hr. 30 min), and easy to watch all the way through. Definitely a buy on DVD (even if the special features aren't all that special). I gave it an 8/10.