Troop Beverly Hills

Only fleetingly amusing, but Miss Long does make it fun for a while. Read full review

If this movie had been a satire, it could have been deadly. Read full review

Long is an actress who can’t throw away a line--though this is one case where she should have thrown away the whole script. But she gets points for sheer, daffy energy and rampaging pulchritude. Read full review

FOR ABOUT a half-hour, Troop Beverly Hills brings a lot of funny situations and funny lines. Then it's time to finish the popcorn and settle down for a nap. [24 March 1989, p.3F]

Nothing - not great actors, brilliant direction, splendid costumes or beautiful people - could boost Troop Beverly Hills over the obstacle presented by its screenplay. [22 March 1989]

Troop Beverly Hills is a dog of a movie, one of those nasty little yappy dogs with fancy hairdos, pedicures and pedigrees. Read full review

Seemingly endless and punishingly unfunny. Read full review

Nothing happens that is not thoroughly predictable under Jeff (Revenge of the Nerds) Kanew's direction. Maybe kids, even though they won't have a clue about all those references to chichi Beverly Hills hairstylists, may find these shenanigans more fun than anybody. Maybe we could find a badge for them: the endurance badge. [22 March 1989, p.4D]

Shelley Long stars in a limp copy of "Private Benjamin" with a location switch from the Army to the Girl Scouts. Long plays a Beverly Hills wife who decides to take over the local troop of spoiled brats. A number of tedious jokes about conspicuous consumption fall flat and Long is no Hawn when it comes to comedy. [24 March 1989, p.A]

The premise of TROOP BEVERLY HILLS might have worked as a comedy skit, but could hardly sustain a feature, and unfortunately the premise is virtually all the film's screenplay supplies. The lack of character development is particularly damaging for Long--since her character never becomes more than a cartoon, her reformation is never credible. Read full review

There are some laws of nature we might as well accept: Gravity exists, the world is round, and movies with Pia Zadora, Robin Leach, Dr. Joyce Brothers and Annette Funicello are not funny. [24 March 1989, p.7]