Review of Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) by Jens S — 18 Jul 2012

One of the great comedies of the 1980s, blessed with a terrific cast, tells the story of a family of rich, spoiled Beverly Hills residents who take car of a tramp who failed to commit suicide in their pool.

There are a few great laughs but the comedy works mostly through the characters and how the hobo ends of putting every inhabitant of the house through his own very special therapy. That's full of irony, very charming and extremely entertaining.

Dreyfuss and Midler are perfect as yuppie couple, Nolte nails the tramp outstandingly. And when the Talking Heads sing their hymn "Once in a lifetime" over the final punchline in the end, we know what we always hoped for: at the end of the day, the rich are just as poor as us.