Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)
78%RT Audience Score: 68%
Awards & Nominations: 9 nominations
Warm, real, and hilarious
Slums of Beverly Hills” is a dark comedy that’s all about family dysfunction, sex, drugs, and cursing. It’s a brave movie that’s filled with flashes of painful insight into the pitfalls awaiting adolescent girls. While some critics found it lacking, I found it to be a hilarious and well-acted film that’s definitely worth a watch. Plus, it’s always fun to see a new director’s career take off, and Tamara Jenkins definitely has a bright future ahead of her. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready for a wild ride through the slums of Beverly Hills!
Production Company(ies)
Strong Heart, Demme Production Orion Pictures,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
425 S Willaman Dr, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong sexual situations, nudity, language and drug content
Year of Release
1998
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Dec 17, 2002
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Marisa Tomei, Alan Arkin, Natasha Lyonne, Kevin Corrigan, Eli Marienthal, David Krumholtz, directed by Tamara Jenkins, written by Tamara Jenkins, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Lisa Schwarzbaum, Emanuel Levy, Lisa Alspector, Wally Hammond, Ray Conlogue, Peter Travers, Yasser Medina, Brian Costello, Philip Martin, Maitland McDonagh, produced by Michael Nozik, Stan Wlodkowski, R rating, family, adolescence, coming of age, dysfunctional family, Beverly Hills, 1970s, divorce, raising children, personal experience, autobiographical, sex, drugs, cursing, dark comedy, real, warm, hilarious, well-acted
Worldwide gross: $5,502,773
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,098,364
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,965
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,101,239
US/Canada gross: $5,502,773
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $10,098,364
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,611
US/Canada opening weekend: $125,561
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $230,422
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,612
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $5,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,175,705
Production budget ranking: 1,706
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,941,117
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$4,018,458
ROI to date (est.): -28%
ROI ranking: 1,556
Alan Arkin – Murray Samuel Abromowitz
Marisa Tomei – Rita Abromowitz
Kevin Corrigan – Eliot Arenson
Eli Marienthal – Rickey Abromowitz
David Krumholtz – Ben Abromowitz
Director(s)
Tamara Jenkins
Writer(s)
Tamara Jenkins
Producer(s)
Michael Nozik, Stan Wlodkowski
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
9 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (62) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (50) | Rotten (12)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B+
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Funny, well acted comedy from a new director whose career shuld be watched
March 26, 2009 | Rating: B-
Emanuel Levy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
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.
January 12, 2007
Lisa Alspector
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
A small film with plenty of incidental pleasures, writer/director Jenkins’ debut feature puts a winning new spin on the adolescent comedy-drama.
June 24, 2006
Wally Hammond
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
There’s an alchemy that can transform personal experience into a great film, but it was nowhere nearby when Tamara Jenkins wrote and directed this lacklustre first feature.
July 12, 2002 | Rating: 2/4
Ray Conlogue
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
What lifts this brash comedy above the vulgar herd is Tamara Jenkins in a heartfelt feature debut as writer and director.
May 11, 2001
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
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]
July 24, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Dark comedy about family dysfunction; sex, drugs, cursing.
March 7, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Brian Costello
Common Sense Media
…a slight movie but a brave one
November 25, 2007 | Rating: 87/100
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Uneven but filled with flashes of painful insight into the pitfalls awaiting adolescent girls.
January 12, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide
Aside from Corrigan, there is nothing that I can recommend about it.
April 9, 2005 | Rating: D
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
March 16, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Rebecca Murray
About.com…
Plot
Vivian’s family are penniless nomads, moving from one cheap flat to another in Beverly Hills so she and her brothers can attend the city’s schools. Uncle Mickey sends them money to survive. When Mickey’s daughter Rita runs away from an asylum, Vivian’s dad offers shelter to her if Mickey will pay for a plush flat. 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, has inherited her mother’s ample breasts, and wants a family that doesn’t embarrass her. Can she help Rita, keep Uncle Mickey happy, and feel OK about her body and her family?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Slums of Beverly Hills.
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