When Paul Bartel released Scenes from the Class Struggles in Beverly Hills in 1989, he'd already gone down that road many times. From Death Race 2000 (1975) to Eating Raoul (1982), Bartel was already considered a cult filmmaker, so it was probably no surprise to him that he once again had to get financing any way he could, even after Eating Raoul had become a sleeper hit on cable and in the video stores. He managed a bigger name cast this time around but still got almost no respect from the American movie scene. As of 2017, Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills still hasn't been released on DVD release in the U.S.
The thing about movies like Bartel's, and Waters', and Roger Corman's, is that they often contain more diverse talent than any movies released by the studios. Take the cast for this one. Mary Woronov, Ray Sharkey, and Wallace Shawn probably had more exposure with a more diverse group of artists, playwrights, and musicians, than most people will have in a lifetime. Ed Begley Jr., Jacqueline Bissett, and Paul Mazursky were all bigger names and industry insiders more interesting than the average leading man or lady. All of these artists brought with them a sensibility that allowed someone like Bartel to go for broke, knowing he had a group of artists who were willing to go as far as he wanted.
Of course, when you go for broke, you make a lot of mistakes. No one ever accused Bartel of being a perfectionist and certainly his movies tend to come off as more than a little over the top. In one scene, a guest is attacked by a dog while everyone in the room tries to act as though nothing is happening. In another scene, Begley, Jr, and Shawn get into a fight at a buffet at a funeral. One does not seek out subtlety with Bartel.
The plot of Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills involves a rich widow, Jacqueline Bisset, dealing with everyone who comes into her house which seems to be every oddball in Beverly Hills. Or are they all oddballs? Her daughter, played by the ill-fated Rebecca Schaeffer, ignores her, her dead husband's ghost shows up (Paul Mazursky), and her friend Lisabeth (Mary Woronov) tries to help but is too put out with her own troubles. Those troubles include her lout of a husband (Wallace Shawn), and her brother, Ed Begley Jr., and his new wife (Arnetia Walker). Finally, there's Bisset's chauffeur (Ray Sharkey), who wants to sleep with Lisabeth's houseboy (Robert Beltran), and bets him that if he beds his employer before Beltran, then they will sleep together.
Paul Bartel's films work on a simple premise: play nothing straight. Bartel himself plays each line in each role he ever had as if possessed by the spirit of Alfred Lunt. Scratch that. As if possessed by the spirit of Harvey Korman doing Alfred Lunt. The secret was never try and make the movie look like a serious satire. Make the movie look like a big, bold, splashy revue that people pay to go see at midnight in a second run theater that doesn't mind if you bring in a bottle in a bag.
With the passing of Paul Bartel, and the retirement of John Waters, the cinematic world has lost movies made with the intention of offense. Certainly, there are plenty of movies that still offend but these movies set out to do that, to shock the sensibilities, and make a serious effort to make us laugh in the process. Let's hope it's not gone forever.
Director: Paul Bartel
Producer: James C. Katz
Screenplay: Bruce Wagner
Story: Bruce Wagner, Paul Bartel
Music: Stanley Myers
Cinematography: Steven Fierberg
Editor: Alan Toomayan
Cast: Jacqueline Bisset (Clare Lipkin), Ray Sharkey (Frank), Mary Woronov (Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian), Robert Beltran (Juan), Ed Begley, Jr. (Peter), Wallace Shawn (Howard), Arnetia Walker (To-Bel), Paul Bartel (Dr. Mo Van De Kamp), Paul Mazursky (Sidney Lipkin), Rebecca Schaeffer (Zandra), Barret Oliver (Willie Saravian), Edith Diaz (Rosa)
By Greg Ferrara
