Le Clochard de Beverly Hills

DOWN & OUT IN BEVERLY HILLS is a smart American remake of the French film BONDU SAVED FROM DROWNING updated to modern day Beverly Hills. In this version, a homeless man accidentally wanders onto the property of a wealthy Beverly Hills family and tries to drown himself in their pool. Upon rescue, the family takes pity on him and take him in but the bum gets a little too comfortable and begins biting the hand that feeds him (in more ways than one). Nick Nolte gives a rock solid performance as Jerry, the homeless bum who ends up running the Whiteman home. Nolte has rarely been so convincing in a role...apparently he spent several weeks on the streets of LA pretending to be homeless in preparation for the role. Richard Dreyfuss plays Dave Whiteman, the wealthy owner of a hanger company who takes Jerry in and initially envies Jerry's freedom before Jerry goes too far. Bette Midler is very funny as Dave's social climbing wife Barbara and Tracy Nelson plays their snooty college student daughter. Evan Richards also has some funny moments as the Whiteman son, Max. Paul Mazursky's spirited direction (Mazursky also cameos as one of Dave's fat-cat friends)and a clever screenplay help to make this one of the more entertaining comedy confections from the 80's. There is also a scene-stealing performance by a dog named Mike, who plays the Whiteman family pet, Matisse.

Still funny upon seeing it the second time - 20 years after its first-run viewing. Every character is likable - Nolte, Dreyfuss and Midler in the starring roles, and every one of the primary co-star and the supporting cast.

Nolte is an outstanding actor, and this role and his harder-edged character in the great "North Dallas Forty," are among his very best. Many actors exhibit far different personalities off-screen than "on" ( e.g. Nicholson), or are downright goofy in real life (Cruise, Jolle, Affleck/Lopez, etc.). But I've never seen any whom I wish might be more like his on-screen persona than Nolte. The guy has charisma, believability, and is completely likable in every role.

Here, he staggers, pretty much literally, homeless, into the mansion of a Beverly Hills wealthy family as dysfunctional (although pleasantly so) as any on the planet.

Of course, his presence and "counsel" take care of all their neuroses - bringing a relaxed enjoyment of life to Dreyfuss, a reawakening of sexual delight in Midler, enjoyment (and relief from anorexia/bulimia) to the winsome daughter, direction to the frustrated adolescent son, happiness to the sexy Latino maid, and effecting a change in the family pooch to where he can now enjoy the pleasant life of a contented, happy pet.

The diversions and hi-jinks in the story are also pleasant - often these necessary components of a film can detract - and the equally necessary closing events lead to a pleasant rapprochement and a happy ending.

An excellent, "feel good" viewing experience.

Sure it hasn't dated all that well, but look at this 1986 hit as a nice time capsule of L.A. from that time period. A period that basically ended with the sobering and terrifying riots of 1992. Down and Out in Beverly Hills deals with a well-to-do yet dysfunctional family having its priorities rearranged by a bum who first attempts to drown himself in their swimming pool. Nick Nolte, looking only a little scruffier than his 2002 Hawai'ian shirt mugshot plays the Jerry Baskin character on different levels. Early on he seems much like the typical run of the mill schizophrenic homeless person chasing after a dog who found himself a better owner. Then, after his dunk in the pool, we see that he is actually quite intelligent and observant. Almost instantly he sees what is wrong with everyone in the household. He just can't seem to point any of that intellect toward improving his own situation. Even when it is laying there right in front of him.

The patriarch of the family is Dave Whiteman who embodies some of Richard Dreyfuss's better work. He is very successful, yet he it just too uptight. Something seems lacking for him. It isn't the appearance of the bum that sets him off. He actually is the one who most wants him to stay if perhaps to live vicariously through him in some ways. Bette Middler is on hand as Dave's sexually unfulfilled wife who mostly spends her time with worthless self-help gurus. She even has one hired for their cutesy little dog. Nolte is apparently the only man around who has what it takes to recharge her batteries in bed! The family has an attractive yet obviously anorexic daughter and an androgynous son. A sexpot Hispanic maid is also on hand for Dave to use at his will... that is until Nolte moves in on her as well. The film takes place over about a month's time and there really isn't much plot to speak of other than seeing how these characters are altered by Nolte's character.

The film has several funny moments, and thankfully Ms. Middler is not allowed to sing too much. The theme song by the Talking Heads is always welcome to the human ear. Some of the comedy, mostly involving the cutesy dog reactions and Little Richard's exasperated yelling are more annoying than anything else. There are some great performances and many funny observations about successful Angelinos at that time. Not much of a message to be learned from any of it, however. Maybe that is why it works. 8 of 10 stars.

The Hound.

One of the charms of Down and Out is it's "dated" quality. Paul Mazursky has a great talent for capturing an era in popular culture and some of his movies, such as Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice are incredible historical records of their times as well as durable entertainment. Down and Out jump-started Richard Dreyfuss' flagging career, as well as Bette Midler's as a movie actress and Little Richard as a popular singer. This is something modern audiences probably don't know, just a historical side note. Nick Nolte prepared for the part by actually living on the street and not bathing for a month. An actor who takes his parts seriously.

Another fun quality of Mazursky's films is that he puts his friends and family into his movies. Don Muhich, the dog psychiatrist, was Paul's psychotherapist in the '70s and has that role in two other Mazursky movies (B&C&T&A and Blume in Love)

To this is one of the great movies(another example would be "Ferris Buellers Day Off"), that manages to be purely entertaining from beginning to end. Not really loaded with laugh out loud gags or thought provoking drama, its just plain fun all the way through.