Figure 1.-- Here we see Sterling (Peter Billingsley) holding Clive at gunpoint and trying to convince him to stage the kidnapping.

This mildly diverting comedy was directed by Jim Sotos. The film stars Martin Sheen and is about about a rich somewhat whiney Beverly Hills boy who decides to stage his own kidnapping to get some attention from his snobby parents. Part of the hilarity is the costuming. The main character, Sterling ... aka Scooter (Peter Billingsley) conceives of his kidnapping when a burglar (Clive...Burt Young) breaks into the family mansion to relieve the family of their many valuables. Sterling winds up holding Clive at gunpoint and tries to convince him to stage the kidnapping. The film gets a little soppy at the end.

Filmology

This mildly diverting comedy was directed by Jim Sotos.

Cast

The film stars Martin Sheen. Some readers will remember Peter Billingsly who plays Stirling/Scooter from "Christmas Story", a real classic. Peter wears the same cglasses in this film.

Plot

"Beverly Hills Brts" is about about a rich somewhat whiney Beverly Hills boy who decides to stage his own kidnapping to get some attention from his snobby parents. The film is quite a mish-mash. Scooter's father, Dr. Jeffrey Miller, is a successful plastic surgeon. The main character, Sterling ... aka Scooter (Peter Billingsley) is his son from his first marriage. Dr. Miller married Veronica, who had a daughter Tiffany, and they moved into the Beverly Hills mansion of Veronica's mother Lillian. Dr. Miller and Veronica had Scooter, who is treated like a second-class citizen by his brother and sister (both spoiled brats), and pretty much ignored by his parents. Dr. Miller is cheating with one of his patients, and Veronica is fooling around with Roberto, who is in charge of the family's cars. Cut to Clive and Elmo. They like to bet on the horses, but they aren't having much luck. Clive decides to turn to crime, Stirling conceives of his kidnapping when Clive (Burt Young) breaks into the family mansion to relieve the family of their many valuables. This is when Scooter gets the idea that Clive should kidnap him and demand a ransom. Sterling winds up holding Clive at gunpoint and tries to convince him to stage the kidnapping. Scooter could have gotten his wish earlier if a couple of other bad guys hadn't missed a golden opportunity at the beginning of the movie. These guys continue to make trouble, and even though they tend to be comical, they are quite scary in a couple of scenes. After the kidnapping, Clive is back to the race track. Scooter who is adept with the computer works out a system for beating the horses. They finished up winning lots of money for their efforts. The film gets a little soppy at the end.

Figure 2.-- Here SCooter is dressed up in a fancy dress costume his father bought for him for the past Halloween. It is a a Little Bo Peep outfit. Click on the image for a close up of Sterling wearing the wig.

Costuming

Part of the hilarity is the costuming. At the beginning of the film Scooter weaks typical casual teenage clothes. Later he wears a Little Bo Peep costume so that he would not be recognised. It is a costume Scooter's father bought for him for Halloween. The film doesn't explain why his father bought a Little Bo Peep costume of all things. It is not exactly a costume most boys would want anyhing to do with. Nor do I recall his reaction to the choice. Scooter mentions that it cost his dad a $1,000 and he won first prize with it. Once the kidnapping was discovered, it was wisely televised. So the costume was used to keep his identity secret. They had set themselves up in a very expensive hotel using Scooters pocket money to pay for it. He also went to the races dressed in this manner with Clive.

Created: 1:25 PM 6/15/2006
Last updated: 11:29 PM 7/31/2006