Zoff in Beverly Hills (1986)

Zoff in Beverly Hills: Directed by Paul Mazursky. With Nick Nolte, Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss, Little Richard. A rich but troubled family find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.

“When Nick Nolte was arrested for DUI in 2002 and they published his mug shot picture I thought it was Jerry Baskin. I first saw this film during itu0026#39;s initial theatrical release and found it very amusing. This is a re-telling of playwright René Fauchoisu0026#39; Boudu sauvé des eaux that was made into a film in 1932. In this story the rescued drowning man is played by Nick Nolte who is a down and out former actor who is homeless and had but one friend, his stray dog. He canu0026#39;t find his dog and wanders into the backyard of a Beverly Hills dysfunctional and affluent family where he plans to end it all by drowning in their swimming pool. Homeowner Richard Dreyfuss comes to the rescue and the homeless man, Jerry becomes a wanted and unwanted guest in their home. Bette Midler is Dreyfussu0026#39; wife, Tracy Nelson is the daughter, Evan Richards is the son, Elizabeth Pena is the maid and Little Richard is the next-door-neighbor. A fun situational comedy, the screenplay was written by Paul Mazursky and Leon Capetanos who collaborated on several films with Mazursky. Mazursky is a multi-talented director/writer/producer/actor who also appears in this film. He got wrote and produced I Love You Alice B. Toklis and then went on to big success as the director of Bob u0026amp; Carol u0026amp; Ted u0026amp; Alice. In the 70u0026#39;s he had some other notable films that he directed including Harry and Tonto and An Unmarried Woman but his only film of note in the 80u0026#39;s was Moscow on the Hudson and after Down and Out in Beverly Hills directed only seven other films of little note and his writing creativity seems to have stalled to as he only wrote four more screenplays in the past 20 years. Cinematographer Donald Mcalpine is this filmu0026#39;s photographer. Heu0026#39;s had recent success with Chronicles of Narnia. Some of his other films include Mrs. Doubtfire, Predator, My Brilliant Career and Breaker Morant. Andy Summers of the rock band the Police provides the music score. The Talking Heads song Once in a Lifetime which was 6 years old was used as the theme song of the film and it suddenly became a charting single. This is a good film if youu0026#39;ve never seen it and a good look back to the 80u0026#39;s. I would give it an 8.0 out of 10.”