Themes: Eccentric Families, Sexual Awakening, First Love
Main Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Corrigan, Eli Marienthal
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 90 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Tamara Jenkins wrote and directed this comedy-drama depicting the experience of growing up poor in the 90210 zip code, told from the point of view of Vivian Abramowitz (Natasha Lyonne), a teen who lives a nomadic existence in the outskirts of Beverly Hills with her single, divorced father, Murray (Alan Arkin) and her two young brothers (David Krumholtz, Eli Marienthal). As Murray tries to keep the family in the Beverly Hills school district, the family moves into a one-bedroom apartment in a shabby complex. When sexually liberated Rita (Marisa Tomei), daughter of Murray's brother Mickey (Carl Reiner), checks out of a drug rehab and moves into the apartment, she becomes a "role model" for the young Vivian. Jenkins's semi-autobiographical screenplay was developed and refined during Screenwriters and Filmmakers Labs sessions at the Sundance Institute. Produced by Robert Redford and Michael Nozik, this film was shown in the Directors Fortnight section at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
This wry, wise, and frequently hilarious coming-of-age story heralded the arrival of two compelling indie talents: debut writer/director Tamara Jenkins and first-time leading lady Natasha Lyonne. Together, these two women turn Slums of Beverly Hills into a quietly great picture full of unforced laughter and unexpected insight. It helps that with Robert Redford as producer, Jenkins was able to snag such a stellar supporting cast, from Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Corrigan in solid leading roles to Carl Reiner, Jessica Walter, and Rita Moreno in small but amusing cameos. David Krumholtz, as the protagonist's pudgy pothead brother, gets the biggest laughs as he belts out show tunes from Guys and Dolls in his Fruit of the Looms. But it's Lyonne -- with her mixture of doe-eyed vulnerability, shrewd calculation, perpetual embarrassment, and trash-talking bravado -- who delivers the more thoughtful and affecting performance. Toxic families are easy comic fodder, but Jenkins has crafted a film in which the laughs are bittersweet and suffused with questions about sexual awakening and the screwed-up things parents do in the name of family devotion. It will probably be a while before Lyonne snags as stellar a showcase as Slums of Beverly Hills, but this one quietly wonderful film should keep both her Hollywood and indie dance cards full well into the next decade. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Scott Plauche - Art Director, Tom Pinney - Boom Operator, Andy Adams - Boom Operator, Georgianne Walken - Casting, Sheila Jaffe - Casting, Kirsten Everberg - Costume Designer, Michael A. Allowitz - First Assistant Director, Tamara Jenkins - Director, Pamela Martin - Editor, Robert Redford - Executive Producer, Candace Neal - Hair Styles, Val Burnley - Location Manager, Rolfe Kent - Composer (Music Score), G. Marq Roswell - Musical Direction/Supervision, Gary Calamar - Musical Direction/Supervision, Robert Bennett - Camera Operator, Stephen Clancy - Camera Operator, Dena Roth - Production Designer, Tom Richmond - Cinematographer, Michael Nozik - Producer, Stan Wlodkowski - Producer, Robert Greenfield - Set Designer, Ken Segal - Sound/Sound Designer, Tim Walston - Sound Editor, Stan Wlodkowski - Unit Production Manager, Tamara Jenkins - Screenwriter, Robert Bennett - Second Unit Director Of Photography, Stacy Deckard - Production Assistant, Ryan Leidner - Production Assistant, Terry St. John - Production Assistant, Michael Kamper - Sound Effects Editor, Elisabeth Flaum - Sound Effects Editor, Jonathan Karp - Sound Effects Editor, Stephane Cojot-Goldberg - First Assistant Camera, Shaun Madigan - Gaffer, Briewen Corry - Grip, Matthew Devitt III - Grip, John "JW" Warner - Key Grip, Steve McCroskey - Music Editor, Lisa Rodgers - Post Production Supervisor, Tom Tucker - Production Supervisor, Roger King - Properties, Will Thayer - Properties, Ritchie Kremer - Properties Master, Jeff Payne - Re-Recording Mixer, B. Tennyson Sebastian II - Re-Recording Mixer, Dawn Massaro - Second Assistant Director, Brooks Robinson - Steadicam Operator, Jonathan Brown - Steadicam Operator, Lorey Sebastian - Still Photographer, Leonard Myszynski - Still Photographer, Andrew DeCristofaro - Supervising Sound Editor, Ricki Fournier - Costume/Wardrobe, Paul Curtis - ADR Editor, Matthew C. Beville - ADR Mixer, D. Chris Smith - ADR Recordist, Romy Fleming - Assistant Hair, Anthony Ernest Garth - Assistant Location Manager, Vicky Ogden - Assistant Makeup, Vicki Thornton - Assistant Production Coordinator, Richard F. Anderson - Assistant Properties, Alan Frazier - Best Boy Electric, Josh Walters - Best Boy Grip, Paul Kline - Camera Loader, Julia Kim - Casting Associate, Terrence Harris - Casting Associate, Curtis Baruth - Construction Coordinator, Gail de Krassell - Costumes Assistant, Colin Booth - Costumes Assistant, Karen Garutso - Costumes Assistant, Julie Glick - Costumes Supervisor, Kenny Yakkel - Dolly Grip, Abbe Wool - Electrician, Kyle D. Hutson - Electrician, Lori Sier - First Assistant Accountant, Kirsty Kalkhoven - First Assistant Editor, Jeff Ervin - First Assistant Editor, Joan Rowe - Foley Artist, Sean Rowe - Foley Artist, John Chandler - Foley Editor, Kathryn Bihr - Key Make-up, Tim Snowber - Leadman, Maureen "Mo" Crutchfield - Post Production Accountant, Janet Lonsdale - Production Accountant, Susie Balaban - Second Second Assistant Director, Scott Remick - Second Second Assistant Director, Bently Tittle - Set Dresser, Guillaume De Louche - Set Dresser, Carolyn Lassek - Set Dresser, Tim Park - Set Dresser, Sammy J. Tell - Set Dresser, Elizabeth Blozan - Set Production Assistant, Robert Leon - Set Production Assistant, Elizabeth Colomba - Storyboard Artist, John Orlebeck - Transportation Coordinator, Pete Josephs - Construction Foreman, Eric Thompson - Foley Mixer, Shawn Kennelly - Foley Recordist, Gary Burritt - Negative Cutter, Lisa S. Froeders - Production Secretary, Lisa S. Beasley - Art Department Coordinator, Pembrooke Andrews - Assistant Dialogue Editor, Daniel Scolnik - Assistant Dialogue Editor, Karen Greene - Painter
