Review of Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) by Spencer S — 27 Oct 2014

"Down and Out in Beverly Hills" is a remake of the 1931 Renoir film "Boudu Saved from Drowning." It also mirrors the classic "My Man Godfrey" in many ways. Though it is based on classic material dealing with the rich relating to underprivileged or down and out peoples, Mazurksy subverts these ideals by filtering through the veil of eighties' materialism.

While the original content could be categorized as viewing ostentatious attitudes as a form of class struggles emanating from the bourgeoisie vs. the proletariat, this adaptation deals more with silly slapstick and aggressive hatred of snazzy outfits.

Materialism is a very important concept in characterizing the rich and powerful, but when employed in dealing with big ideals here, it's used more as a way to characterize Dave and Barbara (Dreyfuss and Midler) than to unpack ideas.

Besides that, the comedy just isn't succinct. It tries to make broad statements about the upper class and instead flops around making fun of everything and anything. What comes of this is a loud, aggressive kind of comedy that isn't all that funny.