Slums of Beverly Hills
Director: Tamara Jenkins Run Time: 91 min. Format: 35mm Rating: R Release Year: 1998
Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, Marisa Tomei
In 1976, teenager Vivian Abromowitz (Natasha Lyonne) is weathering upheavals beyond her control. Her father (Alan Arkin) is constantly moving her and her brothers to new ramshackle apartments within the Beverly Hills zip code – they may lack the income for the tony neighborhood, but he wants the school district. Her body is also changing, and everybody seems to have an opinion about it. When her cousin Rita (Marisa Tomeii) moves in with them, she brings a welcome female presence that can advise on mustache removal and vibrators.
Writer/director Tamara Jenkins, basing the story on her own coming-of-age, crafted a hilarious film that feels sincerely lived-in, with peak performances from the entire cast, including David Krumholtz as older brother Ben, in tighty whiteys, singing “Luck Be a Lady.”