EPISODE 65: 10 MOVIES THAT UTILIZE BEVERLY HILLS IN BOTH THEIR TITLE AND AESTHETIC

In this week's episode of Living in the Sprawl: Southern California's Most Adventurous Podcast, host Jon Steinberg shares his list of 10 movies that utilize Beverly Hills in both their title and aesthetic. His list includes: "Beverly Hills Brats", "Beverly Hills Wedding", "Beverly Hills Chihuahua", "Beverly Hills Madame", "The Beverly Hillbillies", "Slums of Beverly Hills", "Troop Beverly Hills", "Beverly Hills Ninja", "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" and "Beverly Hills Cop".

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Transcript

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Hello listeners and fellow explorers. This is living in the sprawls lovely and talented producer slash wife, Lisa Steinberg. I wanted to thank all of you for your continuous support of the show. As a new podcast on the scene, John and I self-support the logistics and research that go into the show. The number one way to support the show is to rate, review and share this podcast with everyone, you know, Many of you have been doing this and it has helped immensely. I also invite you to check out our website and the show notes for other ways to support the show. We are currently working with companies. We currently use ourselves. To get discount codes for our listeners and support the show in the process. These companies include. Every table, just CBD store, gold belly cats, botanicals, and so much more. By using the links on our website, you are letting them know we sent you an intern, supporting the show. You can also support us on Patrion and pod fan. Please check out the website@livinginthesprawlpodcast.com. For updates on companies we are working with our testimonies links codes and new living in the sprawl merchandise Again thank you to all of you our lovely listeners for tuning in every week and allowing us to do what we love Without further ado you're humble correspondent John steinberg Hello. And welcome to another installment of living in the sprawl. So the California's most adventurous podcast I am as always your humble. Host and correspondent, my name is John Steinberg. And I am joined in tandem by my immensely talented. Producer slash my wife. Her name is Lisa Steinberg. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises. Ready to bring you yet a, another exciting foray into the vast expansive terrain that we have lovingly dubbed the sprawl. On today's program. We take a look. At the cinematic. Universe, you never knew actually existed. Well, it really doesn't. It's more of a construct from the team here at sprawl enterprises. Suffice to say, we're going to be examining. 10. Uniquely different films that all are set in Beverly Hills. To go a little bit further. Not only are they set in the 9 0 2 1 oh. They even have the city's name. In their title. Beverly Hills has. Hmm, shall we say a reputation? A well deserved reputation. It's association with. The Uber wealthy. Has inevitably. Being broadcast around the country and around the globe. What was once a quaint. Area between Hollywood. And the rest of the west side. Was turned in. To one of the most posh. Exclusive communities on planet earth around oh, a hundred or so years ago. In film. When we think about Beverly Hills. It would be natural for us to consider something like pretty woman. Recalling the scene where Richard Gere. Helps. Julia Roberts. Make a statement. At a snooty. Clothing store on rodeo drive. Marcellus in meal Wallace live in Beverly Hills as does the big Lebowski. And indeed. An entire iconic. Nineties teen. Soap opera. Graced the Fox airwaves. Alerting. An entire planet. To the reputation. That we mentioned is so well deserved in the 9 0 2 1 oh. But a number of years ago, I began to notice a trend. There seem to be an inordinate amount of films. That would actually include the words Beverly Hills in their title. As something of a marketing ploy. Or. As a way. To try and tap in. To a preexisting notion. Uh, familiarity. Audiences respond. To that, with which they are already familiar. So, what we have here today is a compilation. A list of the 10 films. That include Beverly Hills in the title. That you should see before. announcing. Your bona Fides as. An expert on. The 9 0 2. What else? Let's begin at number 10. Beverly Hills, Brett's this little gym. Cruised into theaters. In 1989. It's a little bit hard to track down. So for those that don't want to go the extra mile. Let me just give you. The basics. We have. And a fluent family because, well, it is Beverly Hills. We have a workaholic father portrayed by. Way to qualify for this movie. Martin sheen. And we have a neglected child. And wouldn't, you know, it hi-jinks in SU. Scooter. The story's protagonist. Son of Martin sheen. Engineers his scheme by which he hopes to regain. His father's favor. And I'm not entirely sure what the long term plan is following that. In any event. This production is a nice passport. To a certain time and place in America. This is George H w bushes America. We have a, a lot of frizzy hair. Even more. Unflattering. Pairs of pants. And of course. A snappy soundtrack. That sounds as though it were recorded. On something hovering just above a Casio keyboard. If you want to see. Good old president Jed Bartlet from the west wing, slumming it with a capital S then ticket dive into the world of Beverly Hills. Brett's. Number nine Beverly. Everly Hills wedding. And now this one came out just last year. It's a hallmark movie. And it's cast is. Compose. Posed. Of largely unknown Canadian actors. Actually the star of the film. Brooke DRC. She plays Molly. Has. A fairly robust resume. I actually went through the IMDP page. And amongst her credits are five. Count them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Movies with the word Christmas in the title. So let's you clue you in to the type of aesthetic? We're going for, with this one. We have DRC portrays, Molly. Who's younger sister Sophia. Is about to get hitched. Unbeknownst to Sophia. Her older sister has actually entered her in a contest. To see. Who'll be so fortunate as. To hold. Their wedding. In the 9 0 2 1 oh all expenses paid. So we get a. Family. Planning a Beverly Hills wedding. Uh, number. Of complications arise because there wouldn't be a movie. If that didn't happen. And in the end, we can safely assume how this one is going. To conclude. It's frothy. Fun with. The opposite of a capital F. It begs the question. If someone told you. You stood to win an all expenses paid. Wedding to be held in Beverly Hills. Would you bother to ask? Specifically where. Because that is not really identified until far too late in the process for some. For those interested in a hallmark perspective. On life in the 9 0 2 1. Oh, check out. Beverly Hills wedding. Number eight. Beverly Hills Chihuahua. We have hear the voice of drew Barrymore as the titular Chihuahua. Piper para Bubu from coyote. Ugly is in the mix. And most notably the film stars, although she's only really in it for about seven minutes. Hollywood legend. Jamie Lee Curtis. If you can't. Wager a guess as to the plot of this production. I can't say I blame you. We do have a pet Chihuahua. And we are located in Beverly Hills. So it's not your ordinary. K9 forward sort of film the dogs in Beverly Hills. Wouldn't, you know, Are all dressed, extravagantly. We see many designer ensembles, which owners. Dress their pups in. And Chloe. The singular Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Has a diamond necklace dangling. From around her neck. We wind up in Mexico, we meet. Some other dogs voiced by. Figures, definitely slumming it such as Andy Garcia. And George Lopez. It's a farce, a caper. Something. Decidedly meant. For children. And honestly, most of the film takes place in Mexico. We only really get. A beginning and an ending. That transpire within the bounds of Beverly Hills. On paper, any movie starring a cast. Featuring drew Barrymore and Jamie Lee Curtis, and, Andy Garcia. Should be. Something. On a film buffs radar. But when it's Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Not totally sure that happens to be the case. I'll be honest. I died a little bit inside when I found out that Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Made.$30 million in its opening weekend. On way. To a total gross. Just underneath the$100 million threshold. So the entire run of licorice pizza. Didn't make$20 million let alone 30 in its first weekend. Let alone 95 in totality. Having said that. It's a film for children. One that delighted audiences so much. So. That a pair of sequels. We're fast tracked. So that Beverly Hills Chihuahua is now considered a franchise. If you've got kids. You like to laugh. At dogs in designer outfits. And here are the sound. Uh, drew Barrymore. Working to probably pay off a yacht somewhere in the Mediterranean Beverly Hills. Chihuahua is for you. And we're seven Beverly Hills, Madam. This one comes to us from the year of our Lord 1,986. Came out. Six weeks before I was born. This made for television. Feature stars. Legendary. Performer Faye Dunaway. Additionally. The cast is also highlighted by such notable names. As Robin givens. And. Dan Ackroyd's wife, or I guess very recently announced ex-wife Donna Dixon. Dunaway plays. The Madam in question. Presiding over a stable. Of escorts. Who encounter all sorts of obstacles and challenges as. They embark upon this new. Career path. As I said. This was a made for television film. Having originally aired on ABC. And truthfully. Really doesn't seem like the proper outlet for such a production. For those. Televised promos that typically air during sporting events. It's a little hard to picture watching a game. More specifically watching the Clippers take on the warriors. With the announcers. Advertising Beverly Hills, Madam Sunday at nine. And having to address the question. Probably posed by. A five-year-old. Daddy, what is a Madam. I don't know how I would answer that. Faye Dunaway here. Is very much. In the throes of. A. Jaunt. In her filmography. That does not resemble. Most of what came before it, the star of Bonnie and Clyde. Network in Chinatown. Certainly. Had some, um, shall we say lean years? During the eighties, this is the mommy dearest period. Still. This is a pretty intriguing film. In many ways because of who's in it. As I stated earlier, Robin givens has a main role. So this came out right before her, toward romance with iron Mike Tyson and all the drama that was to emanate from that particular relationship. The soft lighting. Character's speaking. In a pitch. That falls somewhere just above a whisper. It's all. So 1980s. From the outfits. To the automobiles. Too. The mansions that we see for fleeting seconds. Beverly Hills, Madam. The television movie that aired on NBC. Is pretty much exactly what you would assume it to be. Except for the fact that it has such a strange brew of performers and the film is definitely worthy. Of having on in the background while you're folding laundry, if only for that reason. And number six. The Beverly hillbillies, not the television show, the feature film from the early nineties. This one was helmed by comedic heavyweight. Penelope Spheeris who was riding high in the early nineties. Coming off the blockbuster success of Wayne's world. And this. Reboot of the immensely popular television series. Has the same aesthetic as Wayne's world. And the Brady bunch movie and a few other. Theatrical versions of. Television shows. That found their way to the big screen in the early to mid nineties. Here we have Jim Varney as Jed Clampett. You might recognize him. As earnest from the, earnest franchise. We've also got. A heavily disguised Lily Tomlin. Dabney Coleman. Erica Alania back from Baywatch. And most notably. Diedrich Bader. From office space. This is Lawrence from office space. And the drew Carey show. The plot doesn't make a great deal of sense, but that's okay because the conception of the Beverly hillbillies. Never made a great deal of sense to begin with. To summarize. After Jed Clampett. And company. Stumble upon. One of the largest oil. The discoveries. In American history. They pack it on up. And head west from Arkansas to Beverly Hills, California. The whole idea is. A fish out of water situation. Oh, look at these country bumpkins that don't understand. The meaning behind. Sticking out your middle finger. In spite of its blatant silliness. There's a charm. On display here. Maybe it's the inclusion of figures like Dolly Parton, who makes it extended cameo. The original Jed Clampett, buddy Epson. Who appears here in his second, most. Papa the role as detective Barnaby Jones. Or. The inclusion of. Conniving couple Rob Schneider and lay a Thompson. You can see the jokes coming from five miles away. But when. The high school bully. Picks on. Uh, young Kevin Connolly. And instead of asking for his lunch money. He agrees to take a fee. In Traveler's checks. There's something. As I said a little bit charming about how ridiculous everything is. The same way that we felt when we saw the driving Bohemian Rhapsody seen for the first time from Wayne's world. This is what I used to watch quite a bit as a kid, because it was always on television, always on HBO. And what can I say? I have a pretty soft spot. For the Beverly hillbillies. Oh, also the mansion. Which the clamp it's move into that we see in the film is the same one that Whitney Houston's character resides in. The body guard. A little weird thought it was worth mentioning. The Beverly hillbillies. If you liked Wayne's world. You will probably like this one. Number five slums of Beverly Hills from 1998. Natasha Leone. Star of Netflix's Russian doll. Plays Vivian a 14 year old. Coming to terms. With growing up. In a poor family in the shadow of. The laughably wealthy residents of Beverly Hills. Co-starring academy award winners, Alan Arkin, and Marissa till may. This indie. Examines the 9 0 2 1 oh. From a different vantage point. What does Beverly Hills look like? To folks. Who reside on the fringes of the city. For this coming of age tale. Revolves around a family. Who. Go from motel to motel. So that. Natasha Leone's Vivian. Can remain. A student. At one of the best public high schools in the country. Natasha Leone. Demonstrates. The Oshawa. Shucks. Self deprecating spirit. That would come to define. Her career. In projects like orange is the new black and the aforementioned Russian doll. Alan Arkin is his usual wise cracking self. While Marissa till may. Definitely handles the role. Of the family's wild child, cousin with grace and humor. Like she always does. Watching slums of Beverly Hills today, a little bit of a throwback, not a. Movie that gets made a ton. In today's. Increasingly corporatized. The landscape. David Krumholtz supplies. Plenty of laughs. As Vivian's. Misbegotten brother. And writer, director Tamra Jenkins. Delivers. Uh, take. On the coming of age, narrative loaded. With meaningful moments and. Hardy laughter. It was a delight to revisit slums of Beverly Hills. Hadn't seen this one since I was a teenager myself. Definitely a fun rewatch for those. Who checked this one out in the nineties. Or. The folks that. Would like to see what Natasha Leon was up to. Before. She was hosting Saturday night, live and starring in a hit. Comedy on netflix Number four troop, Beverly Hills starring Shelley long. Diane from. TV's cheers. Decided to throw caution to the wind. Preferring. A career on the big screen. Two one. Seen by a massive televised audience. Shelley long kind of dazzles here. She portrays. I happy enough. Beverly Hills housewife married. To majorly successful. Something Craig T Nelson. But when we first visit the couple. Their marriage. Has hit a bit of a skid. Craig T Nelson chastises, Shelley long. Four. Her materialism. Uh, lack of drive and overall. I mean, what he's basically railing against is that he's married to a real Housewives of Beverly Hills before. That was something that was fashionable. So to disprove. Her husbands could pensions. Shelley long. The decides. To become a girl scout troop leader. With her daughter in tow. She assumes the role. Of the big cheese. Presiding over. The activities of troop Beverly Hills. But she does March to the beat of her own drum. Rather than. Obtaining badges for things like. Woodworking. Or learning. How to start a fire. Only using tools you can find in nature. She instead has the troop. Accumulate badges. For achievements, like. Best hair, best nails. In a number of other pursuits that would really only apply to residents of a place like Beverly Hills. Rockstar. Jenny Lewis actually portrays. The daughter of Shelley long and Craig T Nelson. A young, Carla Gugino is also in the cast. And. Noted. Director, Betty Thomas appears. As the films, principal, antagonist. This comes to us from the director of. Revenger the nerds. So even though at times, The troop. Stumbles a bit. The CAS comedic chops. And whimsical performance of Shelley long. Make this one. Stand out from the pack. Surely long's career. Didn't go the way of someone like Jennifer Anniston. But she does have troop Beverly Hills. The money pit. In the Brady bunch movies on her CV and you know what? That's not too bad. This one is. On ironically. Pretty funny. It delight that will make even. The most miserly of viewers. Smile. Just a bit. It's troop Beverly Hills. Personifying life in the 9 0 2 1 oh in the late eighties And number three, Beverly Hills ninja. This is one of Chris Farley's last performances. And when you go back and revisit a movie such as this. You can't help. But find yourself. Saddened. By his untimely passing. The physical comedy. That he gets up to in Beverly Hills ninja. Is off the charts. Kevin James or whomever. Is trying their hand at being the best physical. Comedian today has nothing. On Chris Farley. Through. An unbelievable series of events. A young westerner finds himself. Growing up. With a cohort of. Aspiring Japanese ninjas. And even though. Her Ru. The character played by Farley. Doesn't have the. Physical. Presence required to be. Uh, ninja or many of the other requisite qualities. He nevertheless aspires to be a ninja like his adopted brothers. Anyway. Through an even more unbelievable series of additional events. He finds himself on the loose in Beverly Hills, hot on the trail. Of one Sally Jones. Nicolette Sheridan. Who audiences may remember most vividly as ed Britt from desperate Housewives. Portrays the garage we're supposed to believe she's a love interest. But definitely the impetus for why her Ru. Travels to Beverly Hills. We get. Some great young Chris rock on display here. Like the Beverly hillbillies. Some. Uh, fun fish out of water moments. With locals. And Chris Farley's her Ru not necessarily seeing eye to eye. But Beverly Hills in this context is. Sort of just a backdrop. Farley. Above and beyond everything else is the. Component. To fixate on here. There's one scene in particular that occurs at a strip club, which, um, there are no strip clubs in Beverly Hills. Where the dancing that he gets up to the physical comedy. We haven't seen it. Since he died in 1997. Nicolette Sheratons Sally Jones. Doesn't give the audience a heck of a lot. To contemplate other than her appearance. The villain. Seems like. He's been recycled from the. Lesser James Bond movies. From the 1980s. So we're here for Chris Farley. And even though the elements around his performance are not worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as him. This is what we get in Beverly Hills in ninja. Watch this one. For chris farley alone and it's worth your time Number two down and out in Beverly Hills from 1986. Richard Dreyfus, Nick and. Bette Midler star. In this comedy that begins. With a homeless, transient breaking and entering. A private residence in Beverly Hills. It proceeding to attempt suicide by drowning in the families. Swimming pool. It's not typically. The combination of ingredients you'd expect to find. In your. Uh, 1980s mainstream comedy. But nevertheless. Down and out in Beverly Hills. Excel's. It's. Uniquely 1980s, Elaine. There seems. Like no better performer than one Nick naughty. To have cast. To play the. Homeless. Transient. And McNaulty. Sounds like somebody that might have difficulty. Obtaining. Permanent housing. someone who has probably had a little bit more than a, a dalliance with substances. And his. Comfortable relationship with his own character. Is very well juxtaposed with that. Uh, Richard Dreyfus. The. Uptight. Nebbishy. Patriarch of the family that we meet in this one. For some reason. The McNulty is transient. Homeless gentlemen. Has the solutions to. Everyone's problems. Bette Midler. Finds herself. Very sexually attracted to McNulty here. The family son. Quickly forms. A close relationship to Naulty. So does Dreyfus. And so does the family dog. It's a fantastical film. About obtaining wisdom. In the most unlikely of sources. The Beverly Hills we see here. Isn't. The one. That the events of pretty woman. Would indicate. It's Beverly Hills as a suburb. On enclave where the wealthy live. Yes. But in the end they are all just like us with human foibles problems. And miles to go before being able to sleep. Down and out in Beverly Hills. Was a financial success upon being released. And it even inspired a. Briefly seen. Television program. adapted. From the original material, starring Hector Elizondo. Downtown in Beverly Hills is an absolute delight. Proving. That. Even when we think we've seen it all. We really haven't. Just ask Nick naughty. And that means we have arrived at our number one spot. Not a huge surprise. Number one on our list. Of 10 films. That embody the Beverly Hills aesthetic. Of course it's Beverly Hills cop. In 1984 audiences were introduced to Axel Foley for the first time. The brash. Uh, foul mouth. Detroit detective. Transplanted. To the 9 0 2 1 oh. Attempting to solve. A rather complex. Murder theft. Situation. This is where audiences. On a mainstream level. Really fell in love with Eddie Murphy. This captures. Murphy. At the apex. Of his career. The pinnacle of his powers. Coming off. An immensely successful run on Saturday night. Live. Murphy enjoyed. One of the most lucrative runs anyone has ever gone on. With his 1980s slate. 48 hours. Trading places coming to America. And Beverly Hills cop cemented his legacy. As one of comedies all time. Big screen legends. Beverly Hills cop would inspire two sequels and you'll notice neither one of them appeared on this list. But this original. Really certifies the sweet spot. Axel Foley. Hits Beverly Hills. Like an out of control Mack truck. Getting into it with the folks at the. Beverly palms hotel, which is actually the Biltmore. In downtown. Axel mixes it up with. Art dealer Serge, the comparable Bronson. Pincho. And buddy's up. To a couple. Of loosely regulated members of the BH PD. One of them being judge Reinhold, Billy Rosewood. The scene. Or axle meets Serge alone. He is worthy of a rewatch. Or just to watch if you've never seen Beverly Hills cop. Beverly Hills cop. If any of the films discussed here? Best handles. The balance between. Demonizing. Beverly Hills and saluting it. We get the opulence. Rarefied air stuff. But then we also get. Interactions with some characters that seem. Incredibly ordinary. If you were one of the millions. Who swooned. Whenever Eddie Murphy would issue. His unforgettable laugh. Or whether you just absolutely loved the theme. Music. From Beverly Hills cop. Chances are. You'll enjoy the experience. If you check in with Axel and company. In the 2020s as well. The best version. Of a movie. To utilize. The exploits and drawbacks of Beverly Hills. Beverly Hills cop. Is. Nothing short of a masterpiece. And that's going to do it for another episode of the program. We'd like to thank everyone for their continued support. It does mean the world to us, couple of easy ways to express that support hop on apple iTunes, click the purple icon. Leave us a. Five star review. Or five-star rating and a kind review. If you'd like to write us an email, please do. So we're always interested in suggestions as to topics. We should look into covering on the show. And you can reach us at. Living in the sprawl podcast@gmail.com. Also follow us on Instagram. The handle is living in the sprawl podcast. And we'd like to remind you about our Patrion. Apple subscriptions page, where we have bonus content only available to our a wonderful. Subscribers it's there that you can get access. To our archive of episodes. Where we get into the best of burgers on the sprawl. ice cream. Fish markets pancakes. And a ton of other bonus stuff. Our website, that's the place where you can get your hands. On exclusive living in the sprawl merchandise. If you can think of it. And we. Can make it happen. The website is the place to get your hands on. Merchandise. Magnets. Really sleek mugs. again, if you can think of it, living in the sprawl, the website is where you can get your hands. On it, it's also there that you can snap up. One of our living in the sprawl guides. Or cheat sheet for everything that we have covered since we launched the show. Way back away. So on behalf of myself, I am as always your humble host and correspondent. My name is John Steinberg. Joined. By my partner in all things, my lovely and talented producer slash wife. Her name is Lisa Lowe. Ooh, Lisa, Styberg sorry. We are the team here at sprawl enterprises thinking you again for listening to another episode of living in the sprawl so the California's most adventurous podcast we'll talk to you soon.