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Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Play trailer Poster for Down and Out in Beverly Hills R 1986 1h 43m Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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77% Tomatometer 31 Reviews 52% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Unlucky and homeless, Dave (Nick Nolte) decides to call it quits, and so sneaks into a stranger's backyard and tries to drown himself in the pool. However, Jerry's plans are stopped by the pool's owner, white-collar businessman Dave (Richard Dreyfuss), who pulls the tramp out of the water and into his home. But Dave's hospitality and his status-obsessed wife, Barbara (Bette Midler), don't impress Jerry, who ignores them and instead pursues the family's maid, Carmen (Elizabeth Peña).

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Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Down and Out in Beverly Hills

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Critics Consensus

An enjoyable farce that relocates Jean Renoir's Boudu Saved From Drowning to '80s California, offering fine comedic performances from Nick Nolte, Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler.

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Critics Reviews

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Pauline Kael The New Yorker 09/13/2023
You’re often at a loss to know why you’re laughing, but jokes you can’t explain may be the best kind, and Mazursky is a master of them. When he gets rolling, you’re not responding to single jokes -- it’s the whole gestalt of the movie that’s funny. Go to Full Review Paul Attanasio Washington Post 01/04/2018
"Down and Out,"... is a failed fish-out-of-water story. Go to Full Review Richard Schickel TIME Magazine 05/23/2011
On the basically farcical level where it chooses to stay, it is a funny and likable movie. Go to Full Review Dan Webster Spokesman-Review (Washington) 07/27/2024
2.5/4
Why isn't it funnier? That it's an American remake of a French comedy seems to say it all. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 03/15/2022
3/4
...an almost inherently appealing premise... Go to Full Review Octavi Marti El Pais (Spain) 03/10/2020
The result is a very foolish comedy. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Karen F @foster.karen Apr 1 Review from a Gen Xer 2026 first time seeing this movie I really liked it. Good old days silly 80s movie . The Dog should have won an Oscar 🐕‍🦺 See more Ed . @RT01276001 Aug 29 See what happens when your community isn't gated? Trousdale trash. See more Jonathan F @RT16134280 Jul 10 Poorly conceived and executed as farce. Go watch Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell (1958) instead. See more PanProduction T @ChunPan9 Jun 9 Same setup as Pier Pasolini’s “Teorema”. Except it is made as a comedy. See more Scott M @RT75128960 01/05/2025 Really silly comedy about a homeless man who is offered to live with a rich family in Beverly Hills. He teaches them that life is more than just the stuff we own. Nolte carries this movie. See more Alan g @RT02800715 08/13/2024 Horrible movie. Waste of Dreyfus and Midler. Nolte is his usual horrible self. See more Read all reviews
Down and Out in Beverly Hills

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Cast & Crew

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Paul Mazursky

Director

Nick Nolte

Jerry Baskin

Richard Dreyfuss

David 'Dave' Whiteman

Bette Midler

Barbara Whiteman

Little Richard

Orvis Goodnight

Tracy Nelson

Jenny Whiteman

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Down and Out in Beverly Hills

Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Unlucky and homeless, Dave (Nick Nolte) decides to call it quits, and so sneaks into a stranger's backyard and tries to drown himself in the pool. However, Jerry's plans are stopped by the pool's owner, white-collar businessman Dave (Richard Dreyfuss), who pulls the tramp out of the water and into his home. But Dave's hospitality and his status-obsessed wife, Barbara (Bette Midler), don't impress Jerry, who ignores them and instead pursues the family's maid, Carmen (Elizabeth Peña).
Director
Paul Mazursky
Producer
Paul Mazursky
Screenwriter
Paul Mazursky, Leon Capetanos
Production Co
Touchstone Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 2, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$60.2M
Runtime
1h 43m
Sound Mix
Surround
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