Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills

This movie is outrageous, funny, ribald, sophisticated & hits the bullseye where 99 % of Hollywood movies don't even make the target. Paul Bartel should be recognized as one of the great directors of this or any era. He's the American Renoir & Bunuel _ combined!!! Glad I have the videodisc.

Often laugh out loud funny play on sex, family, and the classes in Beverly Hills milks more laughs out of the zip code than it's seen since the days of Granny and Jed Clampett. Plot centers on two chauffers who've bet on which one of them can bed his employer (both single or soon to be single ladies, quite sexy -- Bisset and Woronov) first. If Manuel wins, his friend will pay off his debt to a violent asian street gang -- if he loses, he must play bottom man to his friend!

Lots of raunchy dialogue, fairly sick physical humour, etc. But a lot of the comedy is just beneath the surface. Bartel is memorable as a very sensual oder member of the family who ends up taking his sexy, teenaged niece on a year long "missionary trip" to Africa.

Hilarious fun.

Paul Bartel's final film as both writer/director feels consistent with his earlier black comic outings ("Death Race 2000," "Eating Raoul," etc.). Set in Beverly Hills among the rich and beautiful, the film follows a houseboy and a chauffeur betting who their recently widowed employer, Jacqueline Bisset, will bed next. The cast is a good one, which includes Ray Sharkey, Mary Woronov, Ed Begley Jr., Wallace Shawn, Bartel, Paul Mazursky, Barret Oliver, and an uncredited Little Richard, but it's really Bartel's unique voice as co-writer/director that makes this farcical sex comedy uniquely enjoyable. Bartel's plot set-up could easily have been a standard 80s sex comedy along the lines of "Class" or "My Tutor," but Bartel's exaggerated soap opera tone to the boundary pushing humor make it a hilariously mannered comedy that doesn't feel far off from John Waters. Bartel's films are never ones that were intended to appeal to a wide audience, but for those who do enjoy his offbeat satirical style, this is quite enjoyable.

Cult figure Paul Bartel probably hoped for mainstream acceptance with this film, but it actually had the opposite effect; it practically stopped his movie-directing career in its tracks. And it's not hard to see why: the film lacks a dramatic center of gravity - it has nothing to compel you to keep watching apart from the familiar names in the cast. It's basically a bedroom farce that builds to some "outrageous" events which could hardly be considered shocking in 1989. It's not terrible - just terribly pointless. *1/2 out of 4.

This film showcases so much talent from actors and performers that have now passed into Hollywood Valhalla: Paul Bartel, Ray Sharkey, and tragically, Rebecca Schaeffer who died at the tender age of 21, and would probably have blossomed into a graceful and beautiful actor. The cast is unlikely, however they work well together and seem to have fun doing it. There is harmony and refinement as they interact, making it seem as a dance. The make-out scene with Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey and a chocolate cake is passionate and sexy. Wallace Shawn is smug and manipulative as a troubled gynecologist. Arnetia Walker is a show stealer as the former porn star wife of a self-deluded playwright played by Ed Begley Jr.. Edith Diaz plays Rosa, the Aztec-descended maid who spouts the meaning of life with a cultural twist and, according to Beltran's character, has a dustpan loose. Then there is Darren the West Highland White starring as Bo-Jangles, the terrier with an affinity for black women. The scenes are well edited, and not the least bit clunky or contrived. I don't think this is Paul Bartel's best film, but certainly it has its moments. A must see for anyone interested in off-color sexy films. Paul Bartel's works are certainly not voluminous, but he gets an A+ for effort on this one. Paul, I read recently, was a little disappointed with the film. It didn't live up to his expectations, and the gay relationship between Beltran and Sharkey, which Paul had said he wanted to bring out more, is minimally, but expertly alluded. It is an amicable film, unpretentious despite its subject matter, and almost innocent in its portrayal of an elitist LA establishment. I will never turn down a screening.