Pop Culture Buzz

1.) “THE SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS”

“Slums of Beverly Hills” is a hilarious 1998 motion picture, written and directed by Tamara Jenkins. It tells a story of a teenage girl struggling to grow up in a Jewish family that moves every three months in the late 1970s. The film stars a young and talented Natasha Lyonne, the newly Oscar winning Alan Arkin (”Little Miss Sunshine”) and Academy Award winner/nominee Marisa Tomei (”My Cousin Vinny” and “In The Bedroom”).

As well as being a moderate box office success (considering it was an independent film), it was received very well by critics, some calling it a “1970s version of Clueless”. This modest dark comedy is coarsely funny and surprisingly touching at times. “Slums” is a great comedy with multi-textured characters that are all too human. It is the definition of a “comedy gem”.

2.) “KISS KISS, BANG BANG”

“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang” is a brilliant 2005 crime/comedy film, which follows many conventions of the classic film noir genre. The movie is narrated by a small-time crook, Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey Jr.). He is self-aware and talks to the audience at various times through the movie. The script is fresh with crackling dialog and pitch perfect performances by Downey Jr. and Kilmer.

The film follows Harry as he finds himself caught up in an acting audition by mistake when he is running away from police after a failed robbery. Posing as an actor, he is brought to Hollywood for an audition, where he meets homosexual private-eye Gay Perry (Val Kilmer), who is there to aid Harry in research for his role in the movie. The result is a fun, original, smart detective movie with bite.

3.) “SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER”

“So I Married an Axe Murderer” is a 1993 film starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. Myers plays Charlie McKenzie, a man afraid of commitment until he meets Harriet (Travis), who works at a butcher shop and may be a serial killer. When this movie came out I must have seen it over a dozen times at the local discount movie theater (tickets were $1.50).

This was Myers’s first film after achieving success in the Wayne’s World franchise and was not well received by most mainstream critics or at the box office, grossing a total of $11 million domestically. It has since managed to earn somewhat of a cult following on video, with many of its lines and strong Scottish dialects repeated by then-current as well as future fans of Myers’s work.

4.) “THE OPPOSITE OF SEX”

“The Opposite of Sex” is a 1998 film written and directed by Don Roos. It stars Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan and Lisa Kudrow. The film marked departures for both Ricci and Kudrow, cast against type for the roles they were known for at the time (Ricci for adolescents in The Addams Family and Casper, Kudrow for being the resident airhead on Friends). This is one of my favorite comedies of all time!

The film is a black comedy, narrated by and centered around self-absorbed, manipulative, cynical teenager Deedee Truitt (Ricci), who runs away from home after her stepfather’s funeral and moves in with her gay half-brother Bill, a teacher. Deedee seduces Bill’s lover, Matt, then tricks him into believing she has gotten pregnant by him. The result is a fresh, sharp, hilarious and at times tender film. Kudrow and Ricci were robbed of Oscar nominations fro their roles.

5.) “FLIRTING WITH DISASTER”

“Flirting with Disaster” is a 1996 American comedy film written and directed by David O. Russell about a young father’s search for his biological parents. The film stars Ben Stiller, Patricia Arquette, Tea Leoni, Mary Tyler Moore, George Segal, Alan Alda and Lily Tomlin. “Flirting With Disaster” is one of my top ten favorite feature film comedies ever.

This is one of Stiller’s first starring roles and it is still one of his best film performances to date. Leoni and Arquette give true to life performances that will have you in stitches. The stand out scene with Lily Tomlin and Alan Alda will leave you sore with laughter. Though written by O’ Russell (”Three Kings”) a lot of the dialog was improvised. This film is a smart modern adult comedy classic.