Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills

Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is a 1989 American black comedy film co-written and directed by Paul Bartel. The film re-unites Bartel with his Eating Raoul co-stars Mary Woronov and Robert Beltran. It also stars Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey, Ed Begley Jr., Wallace Shawn, Paul Mazursky, and Rebecca Schaeffer. Actress Rebecca Schaeffer was murdered shortly after the movie's release.[2]

Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPaul Bartel
Produced byJames C. Katz
Screenplay byBruce Wagner
Story byBruce Wagner
Paul Bartel
Starring
Music byStanley Myers
CinematographySteven Fierberg
Edited byAlan Toomayan
Production
company
North Street Pictures
Distributed byCinecom Pictures
Release date
  • June 3, 1989 (1989-06-03)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,156,471[1]

Plot

Recently widowed Clare, a former television sitcom star, invites her next-door neighbor Lisabeth to stay with her while Lisabeth's house is fumigated. Lisabeth's brother Peter, a playwright, arrives with his new bride To-Bel, an African-American woman. To-Bel had a fling in Hawaii with Howard, Lisabeth's ex-husband, who shows up unexpectedly and begs Lisabeth to take him back. (To-Bel who had no idea she slept with Lisabeth's ex-husband before marrying her brother describes the coincidence as "a freaky little act of God.")

Clare's Chicano manservant Juan owes $5,000 in gambling debts to June-Bug, an Asian gangster. When he is unable to collect the debt, June-Bug slashes Juan's cheek as a warning to pay up. Juan turns to Lisabeth's chauffeur, Frank, for help. Frank bets he can seduce Clare before Juan can bed Lisabeth. Frank agrees to pay $5,000 if Juan wins on the condition Juan sleeps with him if he loses. Juan accepts Frank's challenge. Frank, unable to seduce Clare, laces her drink with sedatives and tricks Juan into thinking he bedded her. Juan sleeps with Lisabeth but denies it to avoid tarnishing her reputation. Juan honors the bet and sleeps with Frank.

Howard and Lisabeth's teenage son, Willie, has cancer which is in remission. After he confides to Juan he had a wet dream, Juan loans him porno tapes and encourages him to masturbate. To Willie's surprise, To-Bel appears as a leather-clad dominant in one of the tapes. The tape inadvertently gets mixed up with one of Clare's old sitcom episodes. When Clare shows it to guests after Sidney's wake not realizing the tape is pornographic To-Bel quickly cuts the power to avoid embarrassment. When Willie gives her the tape, To-Bel is so grateful that she agrees to help him lose his virginity by sleeping with him.

Clare attempts a comeback soon after her husband Sidney dies (though she is haunted by his ghost). She suffers from bulimia and enlists help from Mo, a paunchy Beverly Hills weight loss doctor. She invites a reporter for brunch to write a feature about her comeback. The brunch is a disaster: everyone exposes their partners' infidelity or gleefully reveals their own sexual indiscretions. After Clare's housekeeper Rosa frightens her with Aztec philosophy cloaked in New Age babble, the reporter abruptly leaves and Clare accuses everyone of sabotaging her comeback.

Mo persuades Clare and Sidney's much younger daughter, Zandra, to accompany him to Africa ostensibly on a hunger project, though he warns her they will share a tent there. After Peter sleeps with Clare, To-Bel and Howard rekindle their relationship and leave together. Juan and Lisabeth fall in love and book a romantic holiday. As their limousine is about to leave, June-Bug returns, but Frank gives Juan the money to repay his debt. Sidney's ghost appears again to pester Clare. After she persuades him she must undergo self-improvement alone, Sidney's ghost vanishes for good.

Cast

Cast notes:

Awards

Woronov was nominated for a 1989 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her role.

Home media

Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills was released on Region 2 German DVD on May 18, 2005 and in Italy with its Italian title, Scene di lotta di classe a Beverly Hills. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States from Kino Lorber on June 30, 2020.

The 1996 The Simpsons episode "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Springfield" parodies the title of this film.

References

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