Down and Out in Beverly Hills

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Down and Out in Beverly Hills

R

1986

1h 43m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

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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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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Pauline Kael

The New Yorker

Sep 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.

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Paul Attanasio

Washington Post

Jan 4, 2018

"Down and Out,"... is a failed fish-out-of-water story.

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Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

May 23, 2011

On the basically farcical level where it chooses to stay, it is a funny and likable movie.

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Dan Webster

Spokesman-Review (Washington)

Jul 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.

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

Mar 15, 2022

3/4

...an almost inherently appealing premise...

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Octavi Marti

El Pais (Spain)

Mar 10, 2020

The result is a very foolish comedy. [Full Review in Spanish]

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thiago S

@Thiagostone Jun 20, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Karen F

@foster.karen Apr 1, 2026

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 🐕‍🦺

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Ed .

@RT01276001 Aug 29, 2025

See what happens when your community isn't gated? Trousdale trash.

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Jonathan F

@RT16134280 Jul 10, 2025

Poorly conceived and executed as farce. Go watch Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell (1958) instead.

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PanProduction T

@ChunPan9 Jun 9, 2025

Same setup as Pier Pasolini’s “Teorema”. Except it is made as a comedy.

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Scott M

@RT75128960 Jan 5, 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.

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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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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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