Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"I wanted to do a French comedy in modern dress, very much like The Marriage of Figaro, with a lot of Buñuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and a lot of Jean Renoir's Rules of the Game." --Paul Bartel: The Life and Films (2017) by Stephen B. Armstrong "The title came first. I was thinking of Scenes from a Marriage and Hunting Scenes from Bavaria—it's a very nineteenth century literary idea."--Paul Bartel: The Life and Films (2017) by Stephen B. Armstrong Dr. Van Kamp: "When you get a bunch of rich fat people who are determined to get thin at any cost, some of them are going to die. It's a rule of thumb." |
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Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills is a black comedy released in 1989. Co-written with Bruce Wagner and directed by Paul Bartel, Scenes re-unites Bartel with his Eating Raoul co-stars Mary Woronov and Robert Beltran. Scenes also stars Jacqueline Bisset, Ray Sharkey, Ed Begley, Jr., Wallace Shawn and Paul Mazursky.
Rebecca Schaeffer appeared in her first major feature film role in what many critics considered to be a breakout performance; however, she was murdered by an obsessed fan just six weeks after the film's release.
Mary Woronov was nominated for a 1990 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her role.
The title is a reference to the Marxist concept of class struggle and reminiscent of the documentary Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal (1977).
Plot summary
Clare Lipkin (Bisset) is a recent widow, dealing with everything from houseguest Lisabeth (Woronov), to Lisabeth's libidinous ex (Shawn) to family problems. She's also being haunted by the ghost of her recently deceased husband (Mazursky).
Lisabeth's houseboy Juan (Beltran) and Clare's chauffeur Frank (Sharkey) make a bet on which of them can seduce the other's employer first. The bisexual Frank puts up cash for the wager but if he wins he wants Juan to sleep with him. Juan wins the bet but claims that he lost and has sex with Frank anyway.
Cast
- Jacqueline Bisset as Clare Lipkin
- Ray Sharkey as Frank
- Mary Woronov as Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian
- Robert Beltran as Juan
- Ed Begley Jr. as Peter
- Wallace Shawn as Howard
- Arnetia Walker as To-Bel
- Paul Bartel as Dr. Mo Van De Kamp
- Paul Mazursky as Sidney Lipkin
- Rebecca Schaeffer as Zandra
- Barret Oliver as Willie Saravian
- Edith Diaz as Rosa (the housekeeper)
- Susan Saiger as Kelly
- Jerry Tondo as June-Bug
- Michael Feinstein as himself
- Frank Welker as special vocal effects (voice only)
Cast notes:
- Little Richard appears in the film uncredited.
See also
