Among the films remembered for wrong reasons Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, 1989 black comedy directed by Paul Bartel, stands out by being surprisingly good film, although forever tainted by its tragic aftermath. The plot is set in luxurious mansion of Clare Lipkin (played by Jacqueline Bisset), former television star. Her husband Sidney (played by Paul Mazursky) has recently died while practising kinky form of sex, but he nevertheless returns as ghost and attempts to seduce her. Her next door neighbour Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian (played by Mary Woronov) has her home fumigate so Clare invites to stay at her place, where she is joined by her teenage son Willie (played by Barett Oliver), brother Peter (played by Ed Begley, Jr.), his African American bride To-Bel (played by Arnetia Walker) and ultimately ex-husband Howard (played by Wallace Shawn), who unsuccessfully wants to win Lisabeth back. Soon it becomes obvious that To-Bel had romantic past with Howard, while Willie lusts over her aunt and Peter starts feeling attraction towards his sister’s best friend. Situation is further complicated with presence of cynical weight loss doctor Mo Van De Kamp (played by Paul Bartel) and Clare’s daughter Zandra (played by Rebecca Shaeffer). In the meantime, Clare’s Mexican manservant Juan (played by Robert Beltran) and Lisabeth bisexual chauffeur Frank (played by Ray Sharkey) make a wager to seduce each other’s employer.
Script by Bruce Wagner, novelist who grew up in Hollywood and had insider knowledge of American film industry, was obviously intended as a biting satire at the world of rich and famous in 1980s America. Paul Bartel, film maker known for his transgressive films made with low budget and independent production, however made the film as some sort a modern-day farce and setting very much like popular 1980s television shows like Dynasty, which is even referenced in the film. The result is portrayal of libertine, hedonistic social set in which almost every character falls in love or has sex with another. What is refreshing in it is use of two characters from the lower strata of society – Juan and Frank – who put such romantic and sexual shenanigans into different perspective. Bartel, on the other hand, spices up film with some nudity, very profane dialogue and even explicit sex. Cast is very inspired, especially Jacqueline Bisset as glamorous ex actress that hopes to restart career, as well as Ray Sharkey as the most devious character of them all. Some characters and subplots, on the other hand, seem redundant, like Zandra and Dr. Van De Kamp and humour at times fails. An example is brunch scene during when characters discover some unpleasant truths about each other in most inopportune time. Bartel’s direction at time seems too theatrical and gives away relatively low budget. Nevertheless, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is mostly entertaining film, especially for audience that likes little rawness in Hollywood comedies, which began to get over-sanitised at the time of production. The film, however, proved fatal for young actress Rebecca Shaeffer; scene that implies her character having sex triggered an obsessed fan that stalked her and shot her few weeks after the premiere in what became one of most notorious celebrity slayings in history of Hollywood.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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Movie URL: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/60276-scenes-from-the-class-struggle-in-beverly-hills Critic: AA
