With its celebration of ’80s-style overindulgence and superficial consumerism, Troop Beverly Hills is just the film to combat those recessionista blues.
Following her husband’s request for a divorce, materialistic socialite Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) plunges into her role as the leader of her daughter Hannah’s (Jenny Lewis long before Rilo Kiley) Wilderness Girls troop. But these little rich girls are not quite cut out for camping or community service. So instead, Phyllis teaches this band of trust-fund kids (which includes a young Carla Gugino) the skills they’ll need to survive on Rodeo Drive: shopping, grooming and jewelry appraisal.
Your quintessential ’80s family movie, the pleasure that comes from Troop Beverly Hills is due to the spectacle surrounding Phyllis’ seemingly-religious consumerism and the girls’ obsessions with wealth and status. Celebrity cameos (Robin Leach, Cheech Marin and Annette Funicello) and endless branding make the Beverly Hills lifestyle irresistibly alluring. Long’s over-the-top performance and opulent wardrobe make for campy entertainment that is bound to put a smile on the glummest bargain shopper’s face.
