The coming of age genre has long been a favorite among filmmakers simply due to the "pre- loaded" material that inherently comes with such stories. As their bodies, minds, and personalities radically change, the teenage characters in such films undergo confusion, conflict, and quite often many embarrassing moments.
Filmmakers usually interpret the genre's subject matter in one of two ways. One takes a dramatic approach to telling the story and rarely infuses much humor into the proceedings (such as in the recent "Whatever" and the more adventurous "Stand By Me"), while the other camp thinks it's fodder for a humorous approach (such as with "Sixteen Candles" or "Welcome to the Dollhouse").
"Slums of Beverly Hills," the feature film debut of writer/director Tamara Jenkins, takes more of the latter approach, although some serious elements are present. From the humorously oxymoronic title to the bevy of idiosyncratic characters that populate the story, Jenkins has taken a reportedly semi-autobiographical look at growing up as a young woman and made it into an occasionally quite funny picture.
Of course one never thinks of "slums" in the same sentence with "Beverly Hills," but the clever plot device of having the nomadic Abramowitz's moving from one apartment to the next provides for some unique laughs, and also complicates Vivian's life. Not only must she put up with continually moving, but also the peculiarities of coming of age with her non-understanding, all male immediate family and the fact that her chest has expanded at such a rate that she thinks she's deformed.
Jenkins takes that issue of breast size and runs with it throughout much of the film, but with often mixed results. Vivian's reaction to suddenly having to wear a bra is often funny -- especially in a scene where Murray, perfectly playing the out-of-touch father, makes her wear one under a halter top, leading to a particularly embarrassing fashion faux pas.
At other times, however, Jenkins takes the material too far, such as when the fourteen-year-old Vivian visits a surgeon about having her breasts surgically reduced. While that may mirror other young women's secret longings, it does little for the movie as a whole.
In fact, much of the movie follows that pattern where some of the material works and is quite funny, while other bits fall flat. Unfortunately, none of them collectively really add up to anything substantial, and the film ultimately spins its wheels trying to get somewhere, but ends up at about the same place it took off. While it's more clever than a similarly based sitcom, it has that same episodic "slice of life" feel since nothing's ever really resolved. You get the feeling that you'll need to return to later chapters in the story to ever feel any closure regarding it.
Even so, the unique characters and the performers who inhabit them make up for most of the deficiencies. Natasha Lyonne (who played the daughter in "Krippendorf's Tribe") is perfectly cast as the awkward young girl and delivers a great performance, perfectly capturing the "side effects" created by suddenly coming of age.
Two-time Oscar nominee Alan Arkin ("The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!," "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" and more recently, "Four Days in September") is also quite good in his role as the father who will do anything to keep his kids in the good school district while staying one step ahead of various landlords.
The supporting performances are all quite strong. Marisa Tomei ("My Cousin Vinny," "The Paper") plays another ditsy character, but one that's troubled, thus giving her a bit more depth than one would initially expect. David Krumholtz ("The Ice Storm," "The Santa Claus") is funny as the smart aleck older brother, while Kevin Corrigan ("Henry Fool," "Kicked in the Head") is interesting, but his Charles Manson obsession isn't taken far enough to either be very disturbing or funny. Consequently, it feels more like a would-be clever plot gimmick instead of a real characteristic.
Filled with enough 70's nostalgia -- clips of "Let's Make a Deal" and "H.R. Puffenstuff" -- to either make you wax nostalgic or get queasy, along with a hodgepodge of material that fortunately hits more often than it misses, "Slums of Beverly Hills" isn't a great movie by any means, but is certainly different and amusing enough to earn a passing grade. We give it a 6 out of 10.