Slums of Beverly Hills

Tamara Jenkins, the first time writer/director of Slums of Beverly Hills, doesn't seem to understand the strengths of her own story. Her tale centers around the Abramowitz family, a semi-dysfunctional Southern California clan circa 1976, focusing on the coming-of-age of 14-year-old Vivian (Natasha Lyonne). The mid-70s setting sets up an intriguing family dynamic as Murray (Alan Arkin), a 65-year-old single father who still defines his success as a father in 1950s "financial provider" terms, can't be the sensitive, worldly parent Vivian needs as she begins exploring her sexuality in a more liberated time. Their relationship forms the solid foundation for a story where the laughs could have come from the generation gap-strained affection between father and daughter. Why, then, must Jenkins get hyper-quirky on us by introducing Vivian's free-spirited older cousin Rita (Marisa Tomei), a troubled, pregnant, recovering drug addict who comes to stay with Murray's family? There's nothing interesting or genuine about Rita or her problems; they're like the shenanigans of a wacky sit-com relative. Slums of Beverly Hills draws you in with some sensitive observations about a family trying to cope with a profound generation gap, then starts pushing you away with gratuitous eccentricity. Like the Abramowitzes themselves, Tamara Jenkins doesn't seem to know how good she really has it. Strong optional. (S. Renshaw)