Troop Beverly Hills
Troop Beverly Hills is a 1989 American comedy film. Produced by the Weintraub Entertainment Group and directed by Jeff Kanew, starring Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson, Betty Thomas, Mary Gross, Stephanie Beacham and introducing Jenny Lewis as Hannah Nefler. The film features a host of young actors, including Tori Spelling, Carla Gugino, Emily Schulman, Ami Foster, and Kellie Martin.[2]
| Troop Beverly Hills | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Jeff Kanew |
| Produced by | Ava Ostern Fries |
| Screenplay by | Pamela Norris Margaret Grieco Oberman |
| Story by | Ava Ostern Fries |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Randy Edelman |
| Cinematography | Donald E. Thorin |
| Edited by | Mark Melnick |
Production company | Weintraub Entertainment Group Fries Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $18 million |
| Box office | $8,508,843[1] |
Plot
Phyllis Nefler is a socialite wife recently separated from her husband Freddy, a wealthy owner of an auto shop chain. In an attempt to maintain the relationship with her daughter Hannah during the contentious divorce, Phyllis becomes the den mother of Hannah's unruly, leaderless local girl scout troop of Wilderness Girls.
Their first campout results in the troop getting caught in a rain squall, prompting Phyllis to take the girls to 'camp out' at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Despite her unorthodox ways, Phyllis demonstrates an unwavering commitment to the girls' well-being and ends up becoming a surrogate mother to the rest of the girls in the troop. Although Phyllis lacks the skills found in most troop leaders, due to a lack of interest in anything found in the 'wilderness', she resolves to teach the girls how to survive in "the wilds of Beverly Hills," even customizing new merit badges for her troop.
Phyllis's unorthodox methods run afoul of another scout leader, Velda Plendor, a mean-spirited, retired army nurse who runs the Culver City "Red Feathers" in which her own daughter, Cleo, is a member. Because Velda has considerable pull at the regional council level, she declares Phyllis's customized merit badges ineligible and sends her assistant troop leader, Annie Herman, to infiltrate Troop Beverly Hills and sabotage them. She repeatedly tries to get the troop disbanded and Phyllis fired, but her boss, Frances Temple, doesn't go along with it. All Velda and Annie's spying has done is show Frances that Phyllis may be unusual, but she has taken an active interest in these girls and is trying to help them learn to survive their personal environment rather than the wilderness.
Troop Beverly Hills can gain recognition from the regional council by passing a series of tests at an upcoming Jamboree. In order to qualify, the troop needs to sell 1,000 boxes of cookies. To prevent this, Velda one-ups Troop Beverly Hills by selling cookies in their own neighborhood. Seeing this, Annie sides with Phyllis and offers her abilities and insider knowledge to the girls. Despite her unusual nature, Phyllis is beginning to learn at this point; for example, when her Hollywood friends ask her if they should solve the problem by buying the cookies, Phyllis points out that them doing that misses the entire point about building community—they may well end up going the glamour route to sell the cookies, but it's still a legitimate attempt to do it meaningfully, at least for Beverly Hills. In fact, their star-studded sales drive sells over 4,000 boxes, more than enough to qualify for the Jamboree. Phyllis invites Velda to a party so that she may receive a check for the earnings.
At the party, Velda takes her anger out on Annie and demands that she obey her or go work at Kmart. Annie snaps back, standing up to her superior for the first time. Meanwhile, Phyllis, dressed in a beautiful pink and blue dress, reconnects with her husband Freddy for the first time. They speak to each other while dancing and Freddy tells her he’s proud that she’s accomplished something. A few moments later, Phyllis learns that Freddy wants to proceed with the divorce, including seeking joint custody of Hannah. Phyllis is devastated and falls into a swimming pool spectacularly.
The morning after the party, Velda talks Phyllis out of attending the Jamboree, warning that it is 100 miles from the nearest 4-star hotel and that she will be responsible if anyone gets hurt. Phyllis sinks into a deep depression and decides to disband the troop, but Hannah and the other girls talk her out of it, Tessa commenting that she gave them a new sense of self-esteem, which is translated as "That you made us like ourselves."
During the Jamboree, the Red Feathers trick Troop Beverly Hills during competition by misdirecting them into a snake-infested swamp. In a stroke of good luck, a skunk scares them into running through a shortcut, making them first in the qualifying event. The next day, Velda cheats again by cutting a rope bridge after her troop crosses and by leading them into a restricted area used only for hunting. In a stroke of bad luck, she breaks her ankle after falling into a hole. The Red Feathers, led now by Velda's daughter Cleo, leave her behind for the sake of winning. Troop Beverly Hills repairs the bridge and finds Velda and diagnoses her with a broken ankle and a severe personality disorder. The girls reluctantly carry her to the finish line after Phyllis reminds them that they have to be considerate to those in need - especially a fellow wilderness explorer.
Though the Red Feathers cross the finish line first, they're disqualified because council law stipulates the leader must be with the troop, though they steal the trophy. Troop Beverly Hills is declared the winners of the Jamboree and are validated as Wilderness Girls. Frances Temple, the regional leader, fires Velda for cheating and for putting the Troop Beverly Hills girls in jeopardy. Freddy, intrigued by Phyllis's complete turnaround, is interested in calling off the divorce. After working through their issues with one another, they get back together.
The next year, Troop Beverly Hills is the designated Poster Troop, and it is Velda who ends up forced to take the job at Kmart after her actions at the Jamboree made her virtually unemployable.
Cast
- Shelley Long as Phyllis Nefler, a Beverly Hills socialite and new leader of Wilderness Girls Troop Beverly Hills
- Craig T. Nelson as Freddy Nefler, Phyllis's entrepreneur husband and Hannah's estranged father
- Betty Thomas as Velda Plendor, the ruthless leader of a rival troop who is the main antagonist of the group and wants to get rid of Troop Beverly Hills
- Mary Gross as Annie Herman, Velda's assistant and spy, and later Phyllis' assistant
- Karen Kopins as Lisa, Freddy Nefler's new fiancée
- Jenny Lewis as Hannah Nefler, Phyllis and Freddy's daughter who just wants her mother to lead like a normal troop leader. She's also a skilled gymnast
- Emily Schulman as Tiffany Honigman, the daughter of a prominent Beverly Hills plastic surgeon
- Carla Gugino as Chica Barnfell, a stern girl who's generally left alone by her jet-setting parents
- Aquilina Soriano as Lily Marcigan, the daughter of Dictator Bong Bong and Karina (based on Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos respectively) who rule an unspecified Southeast Asian country
- Kellie Martin as Emily Coleman, the daughter of an unemployed actor
- Tasha Scott as Jasmine Shakar, the outspoken daughter of a well-known boxer
- Heather Hopper as Tessa DiBlasio, the daughter of two well-known movie directors, and in many ways a genius who has learned a bit too much from her therapist.
- Ami Foster as Claire Sprantz, a child actress/daughter of a romance novelist and a successful lawyer
- Audra Lindley as Frances Temple, the head leader of Los Angeles County Wilderness Girls who is undermined by Velda
- Stephanie Beacham as Vicki Sprantz, Claire's mother, romance novelist, and Phyllis' friend
- Shelley Morrison as Rosa, Phyllis' maid who helps out with the troop
- Dinah Lacey as Cleo Plendor, Velda's daughter
- Tori Spelling as Jamie, Cleo's friend who helps sabotage Troop Beverly Hills
- Willie Garson as Bruce
- Mary Pat Gleason as a kindly troop leader
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as himself
- Frankie Avalon as himself
- Dr. Joyce Brothers as herself
- Annette Funicello as herself
- Robin Leach as himself
- Cheech Marin as himself
- Ted McGinley as himself
- Pia Zadora as herself
Locations
Many landmarks in Beverly Hills are seen throughout the film, including: Beverly Hills Hotel, Cristophe Salon, Jane Fonda's "Workout", Wolfgang Puck's Spago, and Rodeo Drive.
Reception
Troop Beverly Hills was poorly received by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a rating of 25% based on 16 reviews.[3] However, in recent years, it has become a cult classic for its subtle feminist message and being illustrative of the 1980s.[4]
References
- Troop Beverly Hills at Box Office Mojo
- Janet Maslin (1989). "Troop Beverly Hills". The New York Times.
- "Troop Beverly Hills (1989)" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
- https://www.themarysue.com/top-5-reasons-troop-beverly-hills-the-best/