Cast: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin,
Marisa Tomei, Kevin Corrigan, David Krumholtz, Carl Reiner
Directed by Tamara
Jenkins
A semiautobiographical account brought to
the big screen by writer/director Tamara Jenkins about a family of
"nomads"in 1976 who move every three months or so to find cheaper
and cheaper housing, but still trying to remain in the Beverly Hills
city limits so that the children can get the best public education
they can. The film mostly revolves around Vivian, a 13-year-old who
is blossoming into womanhood and has the C-cup bra to prove it. Her
father does what he can to make ends meet, but they are always living
in substandard housing with freaky neighbors and poor furniture. One
day her father Murray decides to take in his niece Rita, and uses her
in order to get money from his rich brother Mickey to pay for her
stay. They get the money and move into a much nicer apartment
complex, but the weirdness of the family persists and creates some
funny situations. Rita's pregnant, the father is lonely, the brother
is a pothead, their neighbor is a drug dealer, and there is a cat
dead in their oven.
A pleasant slice-of-life black comedy
with a perfect and likeable cast and fun performances and situations.
It takes place in the 70s, but outside of a few references, it
thankfully doesn't beat you over the head with it the way other
nostalgia pieces have done recently. Tamara Jenkins has lots of fun
with her characters, and while the situations sometimes stretch
belief quite a ways, the amiability of the cast is forgiving to the
implausibility of the script. It's neither deep nor great, but it is
entertaining and in the end somehow quite touching.
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