Here's a rhetorical question for you: If you were given the task
of designing the sleeve for the DVD release of Paul Mazursky's Down
and Out in Beverly Hills, whose photo would you put on the spine?
Richard Dreyfuss is the film's protagonist, sure, but what about
Bette? She's the comic center of this, and who would be remiss to
forget the inimitable Nick Nolte as the hobo who shows our Beverly
Hills snobs the true meaning of Christmas? Well, it doesn't matter,
because who did the creators of this DVD package pick instead? The
dog.
One might find my train of thought here tangential, but I
do have a point: The less-than-effective box pick choice for Down and
Out in Beverly Hills is also endemic of what prevents this film from
really having any visceral impact. It's a dirty movie – it was,
if I remember correctly, Disney's first R-rated film – but it
keeps pulling punches when it really should be getting down to the
nitty gritty. For one, we actually are forced to watch Richard
Dreyfuss in a sex scene: I remember him playing the guitar in his
birthday suit in The Goodbye Girl, but to actually watch him - mid-
coitus! - with Elizabeth Pena is a strange and challenging piece of
cinema. Even Nick Nolte strips out of his hobo rags down to his
birthday suit when the family first adopts him, but such moments are
too few and far between. No, not lots of nudity, but what should be
many incredulous and incriminating adult situations. Down and Out in
Beverly Hills feels like it wanted so badly to be liked that it
eschews complicated mature farce in favor of more timid, user-friendly
fare. It cops out just when it was getting interesting. Then
again, this was Disney's first R-rated movie, so just for that
it's an envelope-pusher that deserves praise for keeping Ol' Uncle
Walt spinning in his grave. And there does remain quite a fan base for
this picture - many viewers consider it one of the better adult
entertainments of the vacuous mid-80s. But time has not been kind to
Paul Mazursky's ambitious comedy: I can't deny that there's an
interesting story here, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't overly
saccharine and uninvolving. And doesn't any movie with cheating
husbands, naked hobos and a drunk Bette Midler deserves more than the
photo of a happy-go-lucky dog on its spine. Why not a drunk Nick
Nolte's ass instead, a far more audacious and provocative choice? I
guess I doubt Disney would ever go for it...
Video: How
Does The Disc Look? 
Like many of these Touchstone movie-
only releases, the transfer here is not particularly good, but at
least this one is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Color and detail
are both moderately compromised due to the lack of any restoration,
and the splotchy print marred by frequent globs of dirt doesn't help.
Everything is kind of unsaturated and bland-looking, with poor blacks
and weak contrast. On the bright side, there aren't many signs of
compression artifacting, so that goodness for small favors. Pretty
weak.
Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
Again,
lackluster. Yes, this film's original theatrical Dolby 2.0 surround
track was particularly expansive, but this mix feels very limited in
terms of dynamic range and there doesn't even seem to be any stereo
separation among the front channels at all. High and low end is quite
muted and surround use is next to nil. This feels like just another
one-off, movie-only release designed to just get this moderately
regarded flick on retail shelves as fast as possible.
Also
included are English captions encoded as subtitles, and true English
Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
None at all, not even trailers.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What
do you get when you pop the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras
have been included.
Parting Thoughts
If you've
been waiting for Down and Out in Beverly Hills on DVD, lower your
expectations: the transfer is poor, and there are no supplements at
all. The list price is relatively inexpensive, but even so it just
really isn't all that great of a buy. Be warned.
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