Search - Down and Out in Beverly Hills on DVD

MPAA Rating: R Content Advisory: Brief Nudity, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Language Movie Release: 1986 DVD Release: 08/13/2002 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 43 mins Studio: Walt Disney Video Members Wishing: 4 Genres: Comedy, Comedy of Manners, Domestic Comedy

Down and Out in Beverly Hills is an updated remake of the 1932 Jean Renoir film Boudu Saved From Drowning. Philandering businessman Dave Whiteman (Richard Dreyfuss) rescues scraggly tramp Jerry Baskin (Nick Nolte) from drowning himself in Dave's swimming pool. Much against his will, Jerry is invited to enjoy the hospitality of Dave, his social-climbing wife Barbara Bette Midler, and their sexually ambivalent son Max (Evan Richards). The hapless hobo bonds only with the family dog Matisse, which fascinates Barbara to the point that she's willing to share her bed (and a few other things) with him. Dave is twice cuckolded when Jerry makes out with the maid (Elizabeth Pena), with whom he has been carrying on a torrid--and noisy--affair. He plans to wreak revenge on the tramp, but several plot twists result in Dave and Jerry becoming bosom companions. Little Richard appears as the family's easily irritated next door neighbor. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was the R-rated film which compelled the Disney Company to create its adult-oriented Touchstone Films division. The property was later cleaned up for TV consumption and converted into a short-lived Fox Network sitcom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Nick Nolte - Jerry Baskin
Richard Dreyfuss - Dave Whiteman
Bette Midler - Barbara Whiteman
Little Richard - Orvis Goodnight
Tracy Nelson - Jenny Whiteman

Often considered Bette Midler's comeback film, Paul Mazursky's Down and Out in Beverly Hills comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. Supplemental materials include trailers. This is a decent release from Disney/Buena Vista, but there is little here to interest the average DVD consumer. That is a shame considering this film's status as one of the finest satires of the '80s. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide