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Slums of Beverly Hills

R 1998 1h 30m Comedy List
81% Tomatometer 62 Reviews 68% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
The niece (Marisa Tomei) of a divorced man (Alan Arkin) helps raise his adolescent daughter (Natasha Lyonne) and two sons on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
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Slums of Beverly Hills

Slums of Beverly Hills

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Critics Consensus

Warm, real, and hilarious.

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Critics Reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B+ Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Emanuel Levy Variety Funny, well acted comedy from a new director whose career shuld be watched Rated: B- Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Lisa Alspector Chicago Reader Though hypocritical in the way it sensationalizes sexuality, this serious and funny 1998 movie about a 15-year-old coming to terms with her body and her family in 1976 is, refreshingly, never coy or ironic. Jan 12, 2007 Full Review Yasser Medina Cinefilia Tamara Jenkins' feature debut as a director and as a screenwriter [with certain autobiographical excerpts] is a dramatic comedy that is contagious to me. [Full review in Spanish] Rated: 7/10 Jul 24, 2020 Full Review Brian Costello Common Sense Media Dark comedy about family dysfunction; sex, drugs, cursing. Rated: 4/5 Mar 7, 2017 Full Review Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ...a slight movie but a brave one Rated: 87/100 Nov 25, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Steve O Excellent acting - 🎭 - well paced presentation of so much talent. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/23/24 Full Review Tony S A divorced 65 year-old car salesman who's in a slump moves with this three children, aged 14 and younger from apartment building to apartment building after not paying the rent. The daughter, a niece, and others have issues, but he's just trying to keep the family together. That they accomplish. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 08/18/24 Full Review John A Somehow very 90's feeling even though it attempts to depict the 70's. Natasha Lyonne really grows on you in her portrayal of a teen girl restrained from proper teen experiences by her problematic father and siblings. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review alan g Poor acting. Poor plot. Poor script. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/19/24 Full Review Audience Member The late Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, and Natasha Lyonne 25 years later and I remember watching this a few years ago really getting a kick out of it A family comedy that really captures Jewish femininity also being an empathetic look at lower-middle class Lyonne plays Vivian, a 15 year old teenage girl who's always moving with her father and brothers during the 1970s They never sit in one place too long When her cousin Rita visits things do get a bit crazy after she escapes from rehab Vivian has to put up with a lot from her body changing to worrying about sex to her family's ridiculousness Her father doesn't realize he's racist and refuses to recognize his daughter's ball busting spirit, he's also struggling as a car salesman living off his brother's welfare checks Vivian lives in a family of men but acts way more tomboyish plus the fact that she's fighting against her body being a blessing but also a curse She faces a lot of pitfalls that come with adolescence Director Tamara Jenkins touches upon Jewish beauty and assimilation that feels way more relevant now being this is semi-autobiographical You can look at it now as a form of class-based Jewish feminity This family is what you call living the slum life of Beverly Hills being that they can't always financially support themselves and are forced to live in less-than-stellar conditions (nomads as they like to refer to themselves) This was also at a time when assimilation into white Anglo-Saxon Protestant culture was ubiquitous A long history exists between Jewish women and plastic surgery serving as ridding anti semitism but also assimilating into WASP beauty standards The fact that Vivian and Rita share a secret Jewish language together emphasizes their identity The movie works as a coming-of-age tale, a comedy and a very warm hilarious real look at a young woman growing up in a dysfunctional family Yet there's also emotional ramifications men can identify with Lyonne gives one of the best performances of her career and this shows that money isn't the only currency going for characters like this The femininity here outside of assimilating is not only possible but beautiful Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/15/23 Full Review Alan H I just wandered into it. What a nice afternoon. A little cheese, a little sleaze, and a great life story. Check it out. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/20/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Slums of Beverly Hills

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Cast & Crew

The Impostors 63% 73% The Impostors Whiteboys 13% 45% Whiteboys Mistress America 82% 66% Mistress America TRAILER for Mistress America The Real Blonde 34% 37% The Real Blonde The Daytrippers 74% 74% The Daytrippers Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis The niece (Marisa Tomei) of a divorced man (Alan Arkin) helps raise his adolescent daughter (Natasha Lyonne) and two sons on the outskirts of Beverly Hills.
Director
Tamara Jenkins
Producer
Michael Nozik, Stan Wlodkowski
Screenwriter
Tamara Jenkins
Production Co
Fox Searchlight
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.5M
Runtime
1h 30m
Sound Mix
Surround
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