Slums of Beverly Hills

Plot synopsis:
Fourteen-year-old Vivian Abromowitz's family are penniless nomads, moving from one cheap apartment to another in Beverly Hills in 1976, so that Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) and her brothers can attend the city's prestigious schools. Their father, Murray (Alan Arkin), is a divorced 65-year-old who refuses to retire, working as an unsuccessful Oldsmobile salesman whose cars are selling poorly due in large part to the Energy crisis of the time.
Vivian's wealthy Uncle Mickey (Carl Reiner) regularly sends the family money to help them survive. When Mickey's 29-year-old daughter Rita (Marisa Tomei) runs away from a rehab facility, Murray offers her shelter if Mickey will pay for a plush apartment. Vivian must babysit her adult cousin, making sure she gets to nursing school and avoids pills and booze. But Vivian has her own problems: she's curious about sex, likes an older neighbor kid, Eliot (Kevin Corrigan), has inherited her mother's ample breasts, and wants a family that doesn't embarrass her.
Vivian's older brother Ben (David Krumholtz) aspires to a show business career, while her dad aspires to feminine companionship but won't give in to wealthy lady-friend Doris Zimmerman's (Jessica Walter) desire that he send his kids back East to live with his exwife. Vivian's younger brother Rickey (Eli Marienthal) simply aspires to get attention.
Vivian and Rita are close and speak sometimes in their own invented language. Vivian learns that Rita has no desire to attend nursing school and also has no clue as to what to do with her life. Murray attempts to cover up Rita's lack of progress at nursing school, when Mickey asks for progress reports. Eventually, Mickey, frustrated at having to support his brother's family and also learning of their deception concerning his daughter (who is pregnant), explodes during a meeting between the two families, telling Murray he's tired of sending them money. Depressed and dejected, Murray once again packs the kids into his car and they take off. In an attempt to cheer her father up, Vivian suggests that the family stop for steak for breakfast—a ritual regularly shared by the family as a means of cheering themselves up.

Tags: comedy, storytelling, flashback

Review:
Fortunately, we weren't as hapless as the Abramowitz family, who throughout this film are trying desperately to hang onto the ragged edge of the good life.This is one "coming of age" story that you don't need to be a teenage girl to enjoy..
THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS (3 outta 5 stars) I figured this was going to be just another silly movie about the trials and tribulations of spoiled rich kids in Cali.
Her dad (Alan Arkin) is a divorced man of almost-retirement-age who has never been able to provide a stable home for his kids and keep dragging them from place to place like nomads (and presumably keeping one step ahead of bill collectors).
In a desperate attempt to make ends meet Arkin takes in his troubled 29 year old niece (Marisa Tomei), charging his rich brother a fee for keeping an eye on her.
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.
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.
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.
The Slums of Beverly Hills is a coming-of-age story from the perspective of a young girl.
For a long time, the depiction of the family unit in movies and on television was for the most part a sanitized, idealized representation, from movies like the Mickey Rooney `Andy Hardy' series and William Powell's `Life With Father,' to the totally stereotypical versions presented on TV in such shows as `Ozzie and Harriet' and `Father Knows Best,' which were entertaining, perhaps, but set standards that in reality were simply unattainable; a reflection of real life these movies/shows were not.
Then gradually, all of that began to change; filmmakers evolved and the screen did begin to more accurately reflect the family dynamic in very real terms, for better or worse, and in 1998, `Slums of Beverly Hills,' written and directed by Tamara Jenkins hit the screen, with a depiction of the family unit that's about as honest as it gets.Murray Abromowitz (Alan Arkin) is 65 years old, divorced and raising three kids on his own.
But he's determined that his children, Ben (David Krumholtz), Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) and Rickey (Eli Marienthal), are going to get a good education, and that means keeping them in the best schools.
it goes far in disproving the idea that a family in perpetual crisis must necessarily disintegrate.The story is told through the eyes of Vivian, which gives the film a decidedly personal resonance, as it is obvious that this is where Jenkins' heart resides.
An exceptionally insightful film, it sheds some light on the invisible threads that hold us together and keep the myriad facets of our society connected.What really brings this one to life, though, is the performances Jenkins exacts from her exceptional cast of actors, beginning with Lyonne, who so perfectly embodies the character of Vivian.
This is the pivotal part of the film, and with her `natural' presence Lyonne delivers a convincing portrayal through which she precisely conveys exactly what she's thinking and feeling with a combination of facial expressions, body language and simply the inflection of her voice.As Murray, Arkin gives an extremely affecting and introspective performance, creating a character with whom many in the audience are going to be able to relate and identify on one level or another, as he taps into that sense of not quite being able to figure out how it all works, even after doing it day after day for sixty-five years.
It's a performance that takes into account the inherent flaws of being human; it makes us realize that none of us are perfect, but that it's okay-- we just have to keep trying.One of the finest character actors in the business, indy favorite Kevin Corrigan turns in an effective, understated and unassuming performance as Eliot, the guy with whom Vivian has a `building thing' relationship.
Also giving a memorable performance is Marisa Tomei, as Murray's niece, Rita, who is deliciously tacky and adds some real spice to the film.
"Slums of Beverly Hills" is a movie that captured me right from the start, for several reasons.
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.
"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.
I thought Alan Arkin was good but didn't like the incest angle too much and didn't think his chararacter was as believable as the ladies'.
I really could relate to this little gem,  starring Adam Arkin,  Marisa Tomei,  Kevin Corrigan,  Carl Reiner and a heart stealer named Natasha Lyonne.
He's now 65 years old and every three months or so,  uproots his three kids and moves them out of their current slum to go live in another slum,  striving mind you to keep them within the Beverly Hills city limits where the "good schools" are.
When her cousin Rita (Marisa Tomei) gets into trouble with drugs and Rita's dad (Reiner) offers to pay Arkin and family to look after her,  the family is able to afford a more shall we say "posh" apartment complex.
The little Eskimo kiss shows you how much Viv loves her Pop even though he's majorly messing up on his kids.There are some hilarious scenes in which Viv is introduced to the wonderful world of vibrators,  and one realizes that although puberty is a sucky, awkward,  rotton time,  the discovery of sexuality is in contrast a wonderfully precious and sometimes downright hilarious one.
It hurt just to look at the clothes and listen to the music.I found the movie a perfectly realistic change from the overwrought seriousness and cookie-cutter "family" pieces.I especially liked the dead cat, Rita's "boyfriend", and "It's a building thing."Evocative, scary [in a PVC-upholstered sofa sort of way], redeeming, honest -- I was laughing through my tears..
She directed one of my favorite films from a couple of years ago, "The Savages." No wonder I liked this one as well."Slums of Beverly Hills" is a female coming of age story featuring an appealing Natasha Lyonne, who enjoyed a brief period of productivity in the late 90s and since has seemed to disappear from the scene.
Bright performances are the reason to see Tamara Jenkins' Slums of Beverly Hills, since the situations offered up by the writing consist of the usual comedic complications writers call "quirky" and "zany."  Following the nomadic existence of Murray Abramovitz (Alan Arkin), a 65-year-old wash-out father of two teenagers and their kid brother, the movie focuses on Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) the single-parent family's lone female.
Most out of place is Marisa Tomei, who plays the flaky, pregnant, basket case of a cousin who comes to live with the family.
A Funny And Original Story About Growing Up. Slums of Beverly Hills is about a teenage girl named Vivian Abromovitz(Natasha Lyonne).
Vivian can't seem to understand her family and is having a hard time growing up with her father and her two brothers.
Slums of Beverly Hills was a nice little funny and original movie, besides the fact that they could have choosen someone else to play Vivian, because Natasha Lyonne looks like she's in her late twenties.
That is, until the darker side of his existence begins to surface.His eldest child Rita (Marissa Tomei) has found a shaky equilibrium away from home, whereas his younger daughter Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) is finding a more graceful way to balance growing up with her father's nuttiness.Watch as just how Daddy got so screwed up suddenly appears before your very eyes.
The vibrator scene is not to be missed -- you'll never hear "We Got the Funk" the same way again!I've been very disappointed with a lot of the highly-touted indies of the past few years, but "Slums of Beverly Hills" is the genuine article.
'Slums of Beverly Hills' is a disappointing film starring the overrated indie veteran Natasha Lyonne.
And I find it hard to believe that a 14 year old girl (mature for her age or no) would be so blase about getting the loss of her virginity "over with."  Maybe I am too young to relate (I was four years old in 1976), but I didn't have any problems connecting with the stories of Shakespeare in Love or Life is Beautiful and I wasn't alive for either of those settings.
The main character is Vivian (Natasha Lyonne); a teenage girl who is curious and insecure about her developing sexuality.
Rita (Marisa Tomei), a flaky emigrant from the east coast enters the picture somewhat later.Though these characters are played by generally fine actors, they are given nothing interesting to do.
We might have felt something for Vivian if she didn't appear in such familiar scenes."Slums" is one of the few films that I think was more accurately evaluated by the general public than critics.
PopCultureThoughts.Com. It's a bit of a shame that director Tamara Jenkins's feature length inexperience shows throughout this movie, because at its heart, there's a great little comedy-drama about the bond among even the most troubled family.
As it is, Natasha Lyonne is perfectly cast and manages to make the entire movie worth watching, and she shares great chemistry with both Alan Arkin and an endearing Marisa Tomei.
Irritating film about a teenaged girl (Natasha Lyonne) who moves to Beverly Hills with her lower-class family which includes two brothers and her wise-cracking father (Alan Arkin).
Her father Murray (Alan Arkin) keeps moving the broke family with her, and brothers Ben and Rickey to avoid paying rent.
This semi-autobiographical story follows a lower-middle-class teenager (Natasha Lyonne) and her neurotic family in 1976 Tinseltown.I love that this had Alan Arkin, a small role for Mena Suvari and a key starring role for Marisa Tomei.
Had Natasha Lyonne actually been that age in the 70's, I think that's exactly what her teen years might've been like.
The plot was a totally funny insight into a dysfunctional single parent family with a hilariously inept but loving father.
The humor is a bit broader than in the above movies listed, but it's still funny (especially the scene with the vibrator), and although Jenkins doesn't always have a handle on the plot, there's a lot of honesty about lower-class people who just want a regular life.Natasha Lyonne proves her performance in EVERYONE SAYS I LOVE YOU was no fluke in the main role of Vivian, whose confusion mirrors her family's.
Though Marisa Tomei was good in a small role in WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, this is her first really good performance since 1993's UNTAMED HEART, showing not only the flakiness that gets her into trouble, but also the uninhibited nature, vulnerability, and strength that make Vivian look up to her and Arkin able to talk to her (and more, in a misguided scene).
Alan Arkin is a hit as the troubled but loving father and newcomer Natasha Lyonne last seen in Everybody Says I Love You hits pay dirt as the perky and feisty Vivian.
The year is 1976,and Vivian Abramowitz (Natasha lyonne)is on the brink of womanhood.But she has more to deal with than her budding bra size.Her dad (Alan Arkin) is broke,her mother is gone,and the family is always moving from one shabby apartment to the next,trying to stay in the Beverly Hills High school district.When Rita (Marisa Tomei),Vivian's wild cousin,enters the picture (after being realeased from rehab),Vivian finally feels she has a fellow bra-wearing friend.Don't let this coming of age premise fool you.This is not a breezy film,but if you're in the mood for a serious look at dysfunction,this family's mysteries will capture your imagination..
Everything is such a generic cliché - a never-do well embarrassing father, a jerk of an older brother, a brat of a little one, a girl who is ashamed of her growing breasts, a junkie of a cousin, blah blah, everyone is so stupid and does such stupid things it hurts, a generic cliché story, distilled by bad and an occasional good joke.
In his mid-sixties, wifeless father Murray (Alan Arkin), moves his family from apartment to apartment escaping rent but staying in the Bevery Hills school district for the high standard educational curriculum.
Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, and Marisa Tomei perform with curiosity and sarcasm, building on a story that is inspiring.
I enjoyed the soundtrack of "Slums of Beverly Hills" a great deal; the title theme is stimulating and colorful, it conjoins the film's humorous tones.
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.
Critics Ebert and Barardinelli both give excellent reviews of "Slums of Beverly Hills." I enjoyed it better than a recent film about a dysfunctional family, "The Royal Tennenbaums."  Alan Arkin and Marisa Tomei are superb, as usual, and Natasha Lyonne is perfect as the overly-endowned girl about to start high school (she was actually 19).
Arkin moves his family from one low-rent unit to another, often at 3AM, skipping out on rent, but staying in Beverly Hills, just barely (slums) so that his kids can get a good education..
I love Natasha Lyonne's acting and she plays Vivian wonderfully.
The characters are all hilarious - Alan Arkin as Vivian's father, Kevin Corrigan as the pot-smoking Elliot...I just really think this is a great film.
Slums of Beverly Hills, which should be appealing 'cause of its titlealone, is a coming-of-age film - dare I be another user who calls itthat - of a different flavor.
Although I was sure that I had seen my fill of movies depicting life in the 70's, (I guess it's because no one remembers them!!) but this film isn't over the top with the 70's theme.
Natasha Lyonne is great as Vivian, a budding teenage girl who is getting tired of moving every few months.
Natasha Lyonne had a breakthrough performance and should continue to get movie roles.
The poor finish basically ruined a great performance by Natasha Lyonne, who was almost great enough to make this a good movie.
It contains great performances by Marisa Tomei & Alan Arkin, but it is Natasha Lyonne's movie and she makes the most of it.
This is a funny little movie about growing up when you are a teenage girl and you have to live with your sexuality.
Heavy drug use, Manson worshipping, and weird topless nudity shots also surround the film.The  protagonist (Natasha Lyonne) was someone you could relate to, not for her character but in the way the story was narrated.
Although I did find this film entertaining, and I could relate to the time period, since I was also starting my freshman year in 1976, I felt there were some things missing in this story.
Alan Arkin is in a drama, the brothers and the dope-dealing neighbor are in a comedy, and NL is in one of those coming-of-age movies that has a lesson at the end of it.
Slums of Beverly Hills is one of those movies that can make you laugh and touch your heart within the same scene.The beautiful and talented Natasha Lyonne plays the part of Vivian who, with her brothers and her father (Alan Arkin), skip from one cheap apartment to another trying to stay within the Beverly Hills city limits.
This is an interesting film about a teenage girl whose "nomadic family" is constantly moving around to different motels so that the kids can attend better schools.
The kids may not in fact be stuck in these locations all the time, but the movie makes it seem that they are.The performances, however, are fantastic, and make you wonder why Natasha Lyonne didn't have a bigger career.
But, it's so much more than that.(And for the fellas, you do get to see both Marissa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne topless.) It's a story about a family where the mother is the one who left and the kids are actually staying with the father.
I'm not saying this is a bad movie.....sometimes it's really funny...sometimes, it's touching, and sometimes poignant to the point when you know exactly (more ladies would understand) what 'Vivian' is going through.
Getting back to "Slums of Beverly Hills"; overall, I think a younger crowd (mostly 14-19 year-old ladies) will enjoy this a lot more than anyone.
Vivian stabs her uncle (with great force) in the thigh with a fork  because he is being verbally unkind to her father during a meal.The movie portrays the sub-culture with sufficient skill that most viewers will treat much of this behaviour as acceptable in the context of the character's lives.The film has no real plot.
Slums of Beverly Hills-People Make Neighborhoods & Films **1/2.
The father, Murray Abromowitz, moves with his children to California, and moves around Beverly Hills so that his children can get the best education possible.Things really become funny when Marisa Tomei, Murray's niece, comes to lives with the group.The film deals with the various adventures of the family complicated by the drug scene of the affluent neighborhood.Jessica Walter costars as a woman who wants Murray to move in with her since she wants a companion.Carl Reiner and Rita Moreno come in towards the end.