Reviewed by Melissa Antoinette Garza
It’s odd when a movie takes place two decades before it was released, yet still seems ahead of its time. Maybe, I was too dense to appreciate it or too young to see what it really brought to the table when first released.
First, the cast is absolutely perfect. Natasha Lyonne stars as Vivian, a teenage virgin who lives with her broke father Murray (Alan Arkin) and two brothers. The family is forced to move again and again because of their financial situation.
They end up moving into a 1 bedroom run down spot in Beverly Hills. Their next door neighbor Eliot (Kevin Corrigan), a pot dealer who quit high school and has a strong fascination with Charles Manson is instantly attracted to Vivian and introduces himself. Though she seems to lack interest, they later meet up again in the laundry room. She notices him looking at her breasts and calls him out on it. Ever since she developed, she was insecure in that area and asked him if they looked deformed. She ends up allowing him to feel her up, but stops before they go any further.
Meanwhile, Murray picks up his unstable niece Rita (Marisa Tomei)with the hopes of getting in good with her rich obnoxious father. It works for a bit when Rita says she’ll be a nurse to appease her father. She enrolls in school, and her dad pays the bills for a higher-class apartment.
Rita confesses to Vivian that she’s pregnant by a David Cassidy-esque type that doesn’t know about the baby. Vivian worries, but Rita is convinced if she tells the father in the right manner, things will work out. When they don’t, she drifts into a drugged out depression. Rita and Vivian’s tight bind in the movie is one of the best aspects and most captivating part of the film. Rita is thoroughly dysfunctional but also absolutely redeeming. She wants to do well. She wants to do the right thing but her mind works differently than everyone else’s. Vivian tells Rita everything about her life and amongst extreme chaos, their bond is only ever challenged once which is the darkest point of the movie.
Vivian sees her father have a breakdown while Rita tries to console him. He sexually assaults her in a very brief encounter where he fondled her breast. She couldn’t stop crying and he just apologized. I really wanted to hate Murray here and so many parts of me do. That said, Vivian doesn’t know how to process what she sees and decides to get a breast reduction.
Later, she confronts Rita in the bathroom and this scene gives me chills. These women should have won Oscars for their performances. Tomei shows how wrecked Rita is. She loved her uncle forever and thought they were a united front and the black sheep of the family. Then, Murray touches her. Most movies would surround the movie with this act and though it is a catalyst for change in the family – mostly in Vivian’s level of growth, it isn’t the movie. The film is smart enough to leave this unresolved. Vivian will most likely never bring it up again because she loves her father and she saw how broken he was. Rita will never confront him, and even in certain scenes, it seems she blames herself to a degree I loved this because it was so raw and real. There was no grand conclusion of Murray being attacked for his sins, but it’s clear that he’ll be attacking himself. Rita is still pregnant and a mess moreso then than before. I just love that this family is thoroughly damaged, but if you look inside the wreck there’s a bit of life there – and that’s Vivian.
While all the insanity ensues around them, Eliot and Vivian get closer and their relationship is impossible not to root for. Eliot is pushed around and called some pretty harsh names by Murray. Still, Eliot comes by the house, helps with moving, brings Vivian everywhere she needs to be and is never really disrespectful to anyone. He’s just a nice guy who falls for Vivian; and despite herself, she cares for him too.
It’s a solid and nice coming-of-age romance but portrayed in a realistic way by phenomenal actors. There were other movies in the 1990s that were attempting to show the 70s and missed their mark on keeping the characters from becoming caricatures. Here every line of dialogue spoken and every scene in that film is done so well that it’s timeless. The reactions of the characters whether funny or gut-wrenching is authentic and hardcore.
Anyone who knows me on any level knows that I’m a fan of all that is Kevin Corrigan. The man is brilliant at his craft and I can watch the characters he portrays all day long every day. My one wish is that someone decides to remake two movies and place him in the starring role. One is the classic East of Eden (1955) where he of course plays Cal. The second is the lesser known, Pretty Poison (1968) where Corrigan should portray Anthony Perkins role as Dennis. If you haven’t seen that movie see it. Perkins is one of my favorite actors and that is my second favorite of his performances only to his iconic role as Norman Bates in Psycho (1960). Still, I would love to see in what manner Corrigan would play these parts. It would be brilliant if it would happen because the man is so versatile and there are so many angles to come from with the characters.
I had to get that off my chest as I’ve been harassing my amazingly patient husband with these thoughts for days. Now that I have, it should go without saying that Kevin Corrigan was beyond awesome in this film.
When he’s opposite someone as talented as Natasha Lyonne, you can’t ask for anything better. Both in this and in the cult classic But I’m A Cheerleader, Lyonne just owns it. She has a strength and intellect that adds so much to the depth of the characters she portrays.
I also have to mention Alan Arkin. He’s a legend and everyone knows he’s fantastic but what made this role so different for me is the amount Murray was broken and defeated. Especially once he touches Rita, as a viewer I wanted to hate him. Arkin gives him a heart and makes the viewer struggle with what happened just as the characters do.
I can’t recommend this enough.
It’s available for rent or purchase at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Slums-Beverly-Hills-Natasha-Lyonne/dp/B00000I6D4
Scared Stiff Rating: 9/10
