The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) 20th Century Fox/Comedy RT: 93 minutes Rated PG (some off-color humor) Director: Penelope Spheeris Screenplay: Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal, Jim Fisher and Jim Staahl Music: Lalo Schifrin Cinematography: Robert Brinkman Release date: October 15, 1993 (US) Cast: Jim Varney, Diedrich Bader, Erika Eleniak, Cloris Leachman, Dabney Coleman, Lily Tomlin, Lea Thompson, Rob Schneider, Penny Fuller, Kevin Connolly, Linda Carlson, Lyman Ward, James Schmid, Buddy Ebsen, Leann Hunley, Dolly Parton. Box Office: $44M (US)/$57.4M (World)
Rating: ***
Ah, the summers of my youth! Many an afternoon was spent lying on the couch watching reruns of old TV shows on the UHF channels. The words to The Beverly Hillbillies theme are indelibly etched in my memory. Despite almost unanimous poor reviews, the show racked up great Nielsen ratings and ran for nine seasons (1962-71).
Given all this, a movie adaptation was inevitable. The real surprise is how much I enjoyed The Beverly Hillbillies. It’s a lot better than it should be, especially when you consider the poor track record for TV-to-movie adaptations- e.g. McHale’s Navy, The Avengers, Car 54, Where Are You, The Flintstones, Sgt. Bilko, The Mod Squad and Wild Wild West. The reviews for The Beverly Hillbillies weren’t much better than those for the sitcom, but I don’t always agree with my esteemed colleagues. Is there any law that says I have to? I knew exactly what to expect from The Beverly Hillbillies; a mindless rags-to-riches comedy featuring a family of country bumpkins trying to assimilate to life in Beverly Hills. It may be a one-joke movie, but it’s a good one. I chuckled a lot and laughed out loud a few times. For me, that spells success.
If you know the words to “The Ballad of Jed Clampett” (by Jerry Scoggins), then you know the premise of The Beverly Hillbillies. Jed Clampett (Varney, the Ernest movies) becomes a billionaire after striking oil (black gold, Texas tea) on his property. He decides to move his clan to Beverly Hills when a relative suggests that tomboy daughter Elly May (Eleniak, Under Siege) could stand some refinement. With dimwitted cousin Jethro (Bader, Office Space) at the wheel and moonshining Granny (Leachman, Young Frankenstein) tied to her rocking chair, they head to the West Coast- yes, swimming pools and movie stars- to begin their new lives as rich folks. They move in next door to Mr. Drysdale (Coleman, Nine to Five), president of the bank where their money is being kept. After an initial misunderstanding that temporarily leaves her unemployed, assistant Jane Hathaway (Tomlin, Nine to Five) is assigned to watch over their affairs, rendering whatever assistance is needed.
Miss Hathaway’s first assignment is helping Jed “get hitched”. He wants to marry a woman who will help turn Elly May into a lady. This is overheard by weaselly bank employee Tyler (Schneider, SNL) who concocts a scheme with conniving, gold-digging girlfriend Laura (Thompson, Back to the Future) to steal the Clampetts’ money by posing as a French governess and prospective wife.
One of the best things about The Beverly Hillbillies, directed by Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World), is the spot-on casting. As with any classic (or not-so-classic) TV show, it’s hard to envision different actors playing characters that we’re used to seeing played by a particular actor or actress. For example, I can’t conceive of anyone other than Henry Winkler playing the Fonz (Happy Days). The actor becomes synonymous with the role. In the original TV series, the Clampetts were played by Buddy Ebsen (Jed), Donna Douglas (Elly May), Max Baer Jr. (Jethro) and Irene Ryan (Granny). Mr. Drysdale was played by Raymond Bailey; Miss Hathaway by Nancy Kulp. I’ll always see them in the roles. That being said, Spheeris did a great job recasting the roles. In particular, Tomlin and Leachman. Tomlin reminds me a great deal of the late Kulp and Leachman’s Granny is a dead ringer for Ryan’s. Bader is a riot as Oxford-educated Jethro (Oxford, Arkansas, that is). He plays him as a grinning, clueless idiot who makes any given Hee Haw character look like a genius. Varney sounds like he’s incorporating a bit of Ernest into his portrayal of Jed. Eleniak, despite looking older than her character, makes a decent Elly May. Like Douglas, she’s a hottie. Coleman is perfectly cast as Mr. Drysdale.
The plot of The Beverly Hillbillies is serviceable. Not that it needs a complex, multi-layered plot to begin with. You don’t go to a movie like The Beverly Hillbillies expecting to be intellectually enlightened or challenged; you go to laugh. It’s a funny movie. Not only that, Spheeris has a bit of fun with the cameos. Dolly Parton shows up to sing a couple of songs. Zsa Zsa Gabor goofs on her infamous 1989 arrest. Original Jed Clampett Buddy Ebsen appears as his other big TV character, private investigator Barnaby Jones. There are numerous references to the original series, like “Cousin Bessie” (Elly May’s pet chimpanzee). The movie also has an old folks’ home break-out, a wrestling match between Elly May and the school bully (Schmid) and a hoedown on board an airplane (this is pre-9/11 after all). The Beverly Hillbillies is a fun, entertaining comedy. It’ll appeal to those who love mindless comedies, especially anything featuring Ernest. It’s one of the better small-to-big screen adaptations.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: The Beverly Hillbillies is a Nine to Five reunion of sorts with Dabney Coleman, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton all appearing in it. Too bad they couldn’t get Jane Fonda as well.
