06/14/06 Slums Of Beverly Hills

Slums Of Beverly Hills (1998), directed by Tamara Jenkins

watched w/ Leslie (partially); DVD rental (Blockbuster) @ car ride (from Black Mountain, NC to Newport, TN)

Once again on a roadtrip, this time through the winding mountainous roads of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee, I wanted to be content with some comedy while cramped in the car. This is one I had always heard good things about, but never had a chance to catch. Quirky and semi-autobiographical, the late 70's play out as tough growing pains for Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) in posh Beverly Hills. Essentially penniless nomads, her odd family bounces from cheap apartment to cheap apartment in order for her & her siblings to go to the good schools. Her father (Alan Arkin) is a single parent with his own ideas of what's important, her uncle (Carl Reiner) is the guy who pays all the bills, her younger brothers constantly annoy with their oddball antics, and her addict cousin (Marisa Tomei) escaped a rehab facility to become another kid to babysit for the already dysfunctional family. On top of all this family turmoil, Vivian's budding sexuality plays a pivotal role in the plot, as she flirts with the neighbor boy, takes explicit sexual advice from her unstable cousin, and is completely fixated on her own blossoming breasts. Already an awkward age, her embarassment reaches new heights as her sexual curosities and explorations are always points of ridicule from her family. Everyone here is a bit mad, but trying terribly to stay together for strength. It's a tough-times lesson that most families can relate to in some way, as well as an uneasy maturity process that we all have been subject to whether we liked it or not. And can I just say that for a film so fixated on breasts (and it doesn't bother to cover them up), it was funny to see that ever boob-shot was a stand-in, never showing the actress' full body. We're not fooled Beverly Hills...we know you're all show.

3 out of 5 stars