moriarty@fluke.UUCP (Jeff Meyer) (02/10/86)
I saw DOWN AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS almost immediately after
seeing HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, so perhaps I did not see this
film with the appreciation (or the attention) it deserves. DOWN
AND OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS is by Paul Mazursky, known most
recently for his excellent film MOSCOW ON THE HUDSON; while I do
not find this film either as touching or as funny, it does have his
fine eye for comic detail about Americans, and it does point out
two different lifestyles which differ vastly (and not in a primarily
economic manner, either). It opens with the fairly looney family
of David (Richard Dreyfuss) Whiteman, a coat-hanger millionaire
and his slightly off-balance family who live in Beverly Hills. One
day Jerry (Nick Nolte), a bum who has lost his dog and his will to
live at the same time, tries to drown himself in David's pool.
David saves him from drowning, and is so taken in with what he
did that he invites Jerry to stay with them, against the strident
protests of his wife (Bette Midler). What follows is the effect
Jerry's devil-may-care attitude has on the rest of the family; his
advice helps several family members in some ways, but screws up
other members in other cases. He is a person who will not be
constrained by responsibility, which allows him to advise people
over-burdened with it; on the other hand, without those who *do*
deal with responsibility, he'd be out on the streets again, and
David, as the breadwinner, begins to become jealous at the esteem
others have for Jerry while he is still holding down his position.
I did laugh some through this film, but not as much as I had
expected to, given reactions from friends and family and from
reviews. Almost all the actors are good here (the Whiteman's dog,
Maurice, is amazing), and the characters quite likeable (Midler
improves a lot after she loosens up); and the script has some very
good points in it. Rather than satarizing the Beverly Hills
lifestyle to the hilt, as BEVERLY HILLS COP does, this movie makes
it look both odd and appealing at the same time, like almost any
community portrayed in a screwball comedy. But much of the
humor is low-key, and you feel like it's not hitting you hard due to
some message Mazursky is trying to bring across. I laughed a few
times at this film, but not all that often, and came away generally
giving it a C-/D+. If you have a choice between DOWN AND OUT IN
BEVERLY HILLS and HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, the clear choice, I
think, is Woody Allen's new film. Mazursky does a good job, and I
would have probably enjoyed this more during the Christmas
dearth of quality.
"Is that how a warped brain like
your's gets its kicks? By planning the
deaths of innocent people?"
"No... by *causing* the deaths of
innocent people."
Moriarty, aka Jeff Meyer
ARPA: fluke!moriarty@uw-beaver.ARPA
UUCP: {uw-beaver, sun, allegra, sb6, lbl-csam}!fluke!moriarty
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