Rich old Carl Reiner asks his poor widowed brother, old Alan Arkin, and his son and daughter to move into a house in Beverley Hills. The daughter, whose biography this more or less is, is the blond and somewhat goofy looking Natasha Lyonne. The deal is that rich Reiner will pay the bills, but poor Arkin's family will have the responsibility of seeing to it that rich Reiner's daughter, Marisa Tomei, who is fresh out of rehab begins nursing school.That's the set up. Poor but happy Arkin and family must care for screwed up Tomei, at Reiner's expense, in a Beverley Hills apartment in the mid-1970s.It's colorful, amusing, racy, sometimes touching, and constitutes a series of sketches with only a fragile framework to hold them together.But mostly it succeeds in what it's trying to do -- provide the audience with a diverting and unchallenging hour and a half. It's like watching one long Jewish joke about family rivalries and the pretensions of the rich.The performances help immeasurably because they're all so fine. I mean everyone, with the possible exception of two or three young boys who don't have much to do except act dumb. Natasha Lyonne is the central figure, not quite cute but nubile, and her expression is generally one of resigned disbelief. Nobody has ever been a better, more bourgeois straight man than Alan Arkin as her Dad. Jessica Walters as a wealthy widow who might consider marrying Arkin as a "companion" -- that is, chauffeur and major domo, is excellent in a supporting role. Even Rita Moreno, as rich Reiner's girl friend, has that toothy, disdainful Patrician smile down pat.Marisa Tomei does nearly perfectly by the role of the rambunctious, pregnant, ex doper. And she has a splendid figure and brandishes it with brio. (Whew.) But not to worry. Despite the jokes about tampons and menstruation and vibrators and "getting your cherry popped", there is only brief nudity, and body doubles are used -- lamentably.I figured it was the usual teen-aged nonsense about how hard it is to grow up -- the pain, the agony, the ontological Angst, nobody understands me -- but it's rather better than that. It has the charm of an old fairy tale.

"Slums of Beverly Hills" is a movie that captured me right from the start, for several reasons. The hapless characters are all very likable and often painfully realistic, you side with them immediately even if you barely know them yet. 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. The dialogues aren't always that great, but the occasional poor line doesn't really affect the gritty realism this movie thrives on so much. It's rough around the edges, and that's probably why people appreciate this to such extent. It also passes by very smoothly, everything gels together well even though there's barely a story to speak of (and whatever story there is never gets resolved anyway). It's still really compelling for reasons you can't quite figure out. "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. Awesome movie.

i'm not quite sure exactly why i like this film but as the credits rolled i was smiling nonetheless. the orange/brown/pea-soup green 70's setting of it was one of the things i found authentic and quirky about it. the whole texture of the movies seems saturated by that awful color scheme, as though the whole world is being invaded and lorded over by kitsch. another more base reason is the infinitely watchable natasha lyonne as the blossomed teenager coping with an increasingly unstable world. first her family life and now even her body seem to follow wild and unpredictable spurts. she is obviously quite attractive and i would say the best actor/actress to come out of the American pie bunch and thus not surprisingly the most overlooked. the characters all seem believable to the point that one has to understand that some biographical elements are playing heavily into the story. that said brings to mind the old adage that truth is often stranger than fiction, and in this case it also is more entertaining.7 out of 10

Very enjoyable movie about a family guaranteed to make yours look more appealing. Reminds us all why the 1970's should never be repeated. Several memorable lines from an outstanding cast. Underappreciated movie that deserves more recognition, highly recommend viewing for some adult humor.