Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Best movie ever!

Absolutely amazing

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This is a story of a Jewish dysfunctional family. The parents have divorced and mom remains back east in the house. The father, Murray Abromowitz, moves with his children to California, and moves around Beverly Hills so that his children can get the best education possible.Things really become funny when Marisa Tomei, Murray's niece, comes to lives with the group.The film deals with the various adventures of the family complicated by the drug scene of the affluent neighborhood.Jessica Walter costars as a woman who wants Murray to move in with her since she wants a companion.Carl Reiner and Rita Moreno come in towards the end. They play Murray's brother and sister-in-law respectively; they're also the parents of Tomei. In front of the children, Reiner lets loose reminding Murray that he has been paying the bills for them all along.The film ends on a sour note as the embarrassed family moves out of their fancy digs and take to riding around Beverly Hills in their car. I guess the film is promoting independence and some good old self-esteem.

After falling in love with Tamara Jenkins' sophomore feature, The Savages, a short while back, I have finally caught up with her debut. It's pretty obviously a first film. Jenkins has created some memorable characters and some good situations, most certainly culled from real-life experiences. But the story arc is pretty weak. The film is at its best when concentrating on its protagonist, Viv, played by the wonderful Natasha Lyonne. She's a great character, the kind that reminds me of how few well developed female characters there are in movies. I also liked Marisa Tomei's character, too, for the same reason. The men are considerably less interesting, and there are almost too many of them. I've never been a fan of Alan Arkin, so it was hard to overcome that prejudice here. He's kind of a despicable character, and it was hard for me to sympathize with Viv's unconditional love for her father. It doesn't help that Jenkins fails to resolve the father character's major transgression in the last part of the film, instead just dismissing it. Jenkins also bombs most of her set-pieces, and a lot of the scenes she tries to end on laughs are duds. And the jaunty score really needed to be dropped. The movie is not nearly as cheerful as the music seems to think it is. Overall, I liked the movie. But I am impressed that Jenkins could create the perfection of The Savages after a sloppy debut and nine years off. That makes her sophomore feature even more impressive.

The cast and vignettes in "Slums of Beverly Hills" are better than the totality. Natasha Lyonne is particularly good, switching from dead pan comedy to poignant and she is warm chemistry with Alan Arkin as her dad.The ending trailed off. As a person behind me pointed out, if they're staying in Beverly Hills for the school district, how come they're never in school?If you're collecting coming of age movies (or Kevin Corrigan movies) it's worth seeing, like "Manny and Lo," another, better indie movie about virtually parentless teens and how they cope.(originally written 9/12/1998)

Marvel as children deal with their father's madness--well or badly.Alan Arkin plays Murray Abromowitz, a troubled single father who turns his children's' lives upside-down--again and again--in an attempt to resolve his own inner conflicts. This is all quite charming and funny. That is, until the darker side of his existence begins to surface.His eldest child Rita (Marissa Tomei) has found a shaky equilibrium away from home, whereas his younger daughter Vivian (Natasha Lyonne) is finding a more graceful way to balance growing up with her father's nuttiness.Watch as just how Daddy got so screwed up suddenly appears before your very eyes. Carl Reiner shows up as his successful, snobbish--and sadistic--older brother. I refuse to spoil the movie for any human being who hasn't seen it yet.I can't say just how wonderful this movie is!