User reviews

I enjoyed the bulk of the film - the middle part. It was just the first 20 minutes and the last 20 minutes that I thought were incredibly too stupid to enjoy.

In that middle segment, Diedrich Baker's and Lily Tomlin's facial expressions were the highlight. I didn't mind staring at Erica Eleniak and Lea Thompson, either! It is an entertaining cast, I'll give it that, with Jim Varney, Cloris Leachman, Dabney Coleman and Rob Schneider among others. There also is some very good country music in the soundtrack, too.

Otherwise, there isn't a whole lot of positive things to say because, really, much of the humor is Dumb, yes - with a capital "D."

This film based on successful TV series by Paul Henning. It begins when mountaineer Jed accidentally discovers a surprise in his property because he has struck oil during a shooting, gotten million of dollars, and turning instantly billionaire . Then he packs his backwoods family and heads to Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California.They change into a lush mansion , but still live like Hillbillies because they still dress tattered ragged suits and rustics costumes .The hillbillies clan are Jed(Jim Varney in the role of Buddy Ebsen), a good-hearted and kind father looking new spouse, his daughter Elly May(Erika Elinak, role of Donna Douglas),an extraordinary gorgeous but incredibly ingenious and pursued by a suitor(Kevin Connolly), the Granny(Cloris Leachman), a senile, paranoid and obstinate old woman and Jethro(Dietrich Vader, role of Max Baer) , he's idiot though strong, he's actually only acting like an authentic stupid and doesn't even realize it. Besides, the ambitious banker(Dabney Coleman) and his botcher helper(Lily Tomlin) who will make anything of keep the Camplett family money in his bank. Meanwhile, they are duped by a mean pair(Lea Thompson and Rob Schneider).

Everyone casting does rightly their impersonations from television characters with special mention of Jim Varney as the sensible and good father looking for wife and particularly, Dietrich as a double role as the dumb Jethro and his sister, furthermore a likable Granny, well incarnated by Cloris Leachman. Appear special cameos, Zsa Zsa Gabor as a delinquent, Dolly Parton singing country music and Buddy Ebsen, the original Jed , reprises another of his television acting, Barnaby Jones.The film contains a stunning music score with ballads by Scoggins like the original series, songs by Dolly Parton and Hank Williams and soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin. The motion picture is regularly directed by Penelope Scpheeris. Rating: Average but amusing. The film will like to nostalgics and hardcore series fans.

Jed Clampett Jim Varney – Ernest) is out hunting jackrabbit one day on his property when he stumbles onto the largest privately owned oil deposit in the world. Next thing widower Jed knew he was a billionaire with more money than any of us would ever see. But simple-minded Jed wants nothing more out of life than a wife to tame his young tomboy daughter Elly May (Erika Eleniak – Playboy). So he packs up his kinfolk including Granny (Cloris Leachman) and Jethro (Diedrich Bader) and heads for Beverly Hills to get his daughter some refinement. But these simple folk soon become the target on unscrupulous city folk who want nothing lea than all their money.

This sweeping southern epic that lays "Gone with the Wind" to shame….Oh who am I kidding. I couldn't say that with a straight face if I tried. "The Beverly Hillbillies" is a fun in a "throw your brain out the window and pass the popcorn" sort of way. The TV show (far from a classic, but well loved) gets a modern reworking that would suit the fans (yeah you in the back) just fine. Gawlee that there Elly May is sure pretty Uh huh!

Making a film from a book or play, regardless of how many times it was previously made is different than recasting an old TV sitcom and turning into a feature film. The difference is that in the first instance the films are based on characters as written down on paper from the mind of it's creator. No matter how many times A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE is remade it always goes back to the characters, not the actors who portrayed them. Audiences will keep going back to the same play or film each time it is recast to see the subtle difference the recasting will change the role. That is why film versions of hit Broadway plays can be so successful. Remaking a TV sitcom is different. The new cast is not portraying the characters as originally written, they are portraying the actors' characterizations. So in films like THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES we are treated to what is essentially a Saturday Night Live style parody. Of course, some of the best SNL skits are parody and it is fun to watch when done well (impressions done well, and of course a good sense of poking fun at a beloved show). THE BRADY BUNCH MOVIE was perhaps the best example of this. THE ADDAMS FAMILY was a remake, opting to go back to the original characters as created by Charles Addams in his comic strip. BATMAN and SUPERMAN also went back to their roots in the comic books and skipped most references to the TV show. In THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, the characters of Jed Clampett, Granny and the rest of the clan were created by Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, etc...and I really doubt any of the new cast searched out notes of the characters so much as they just reviewed the old shows. This is all right and in good fun and we have to keep in mind that Jim Varney is not so much playing Jed Clampett as he is playing Buddy Ebsen's Jed Clampett. Recently, someone went ahead and remade Laurel and Hardy (in which the characters and the actors were one and the same). It flopped because it wasn't a parody and the film treated the characters as if the original Stan and Ollie were merely players. THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES does not make this mistake, opting to literally morph the new cast out of our memories of the old cast. This movie has a cast that is hip, fun, and funny (you got to love a film that boasts a perfect, if not quite obvious casting of Jim Varney, Erika Eleniak, and Lily Tomlin--all giving great comedic performances). Is it better than the original? No, and I don't think it was suppose to be. It was just suppose to be a way to laugh at our past, and perhaps give fans a feeling that they are not alone with their adoration of one of the great TV shows of all time.

Hollywood has produced uncountable numbers of remakes of old TV shows from the 1960's and 70's. I can't even begin to count them or make a list. I've seen some of them. A few have worked; most have been dreadful. This 1993 movie based on the 60's series of the same name falls somewhere in between those two categories, probably leaning a bit toward the dreadful side, but not dreadful in and of itself. The basic plot follows the TV story. Hillbilly Jed Clampett (played here by Jim Varney) strikes it rich one day when he was "shootin' at some food, and up from the ground come a-bubblin' crude. Oil that is. Black gold. Texas tea." (Couldn't resist!) Suddenly rich after he's paid $1 billion for his land, his family tells him that "Californy is the place you ought to be, so they loaded up the truck and they moved to Beverly. Hills that is. Swimming pools. Movie stars." (Couldn't resist again!)

So, once more Jed, Granny (Cloris Leachman), Ellie May (Erike Eleniak) and cousin Jethro (Diedrich Bader) are left to the task of settling into their new life with the help of Mr. Drysdale (Dabney Coleman) and Miss Hathaway (Lily Tomlin) and along for the ride we get a couple of villains played by Rob Schneider and Lea Thompson, who set out to get Jed's money for themselves.

This lacked the fun of the TV series. There were parts of it that were amusing. The Clampetts driving along the highway thinking that the middle finger was a California greeting springs to mind, for example. Overall, though, it really wasn't that funny. The cast was so-so. Varney and Leachman were all right. Eleniak, to me, didn't really capture Ellie May's sweet innocence, and Bader as Jethro didn't work for me. Jethro in the TV series was a dumb character, yes, but Bader's Jethro was both too dumb and too underplayed. Bader seemed to think he just had to look and sound stupid and that would be enough. He missed the mark completely. I don't think the Beverly Hillbillies work that well as a movie, either. As a TV series it was fine. You got it in half hour chunks (less counting commercials) and that was enough. Trying to keep it going for over an hour and a half without a break became tiresome after a while.

Dolly Parton was included as herself as, I guess, an entertainer the Clampetts (with their country background) would be familiar with. Aside from being recognizable, though, that didn't really do much for me, since I'm not a big Dolly fan. One appearance that did work, though, was from Buddy Ebsen. He, of course, was the original Jed Clampett on the TV series. It was a rather ingenious thought to bring him back for this movie, this time as the other well known character he played on television - private detective Barnaby Jones from the 1970's, whom Miss Hathaway hires to investigate the plot to get Jed's money. When the Barnaby Jones theme started to play I smiled, because right away I knew what (and who) was coming. Ebsen played it perfectly straight, when everyone else often seemed to be trying too hard for laughs. As a result, he was perfect.

It's not the worst remake of a TV series. Not by far actually. But it can't honestly be called good either, and with the TV series being just perfect at a half hour per episode, this started to get tired even before the one hour mark had hit. There just isn't really enough meat to the Clampetts to make a movie about them. (5/10)

As my summary says, this is one of the worst films I've seen my entire life!!! This was supposed to be a comedy and the big problem is that it's not funny! At least I don't think it is! The acting and the story telling is told in a way that they give the impression that the viewers are stupid and it's all slapstick and super corny humor! I only laughed two times during this movie! One of the times was when Diedrich Bader was bowling and the other time was when he was dancing at a wedding or something like that. All in all, a terrible, terrible movie that I can't recommend anyone in the world to see!

I admit, I was never a serious fan of the TV show, at least not until after I saw this movie. But in my opinion, this movie may have helped reintroduce the story of the Beverly Hillbillies to a new audience. I loved it.

Plot: It all starts when Jed Clampett discovers oil on his property. Then Aunt Pearl convinces him to move to Beverly Hills. What am I saying? Y'all know the story. It's the same story as the TV show. That's one of the best things about this movie; that it stays true to the TV show. In addition, Jed has decided to come to Beverly Hills mainly to "get hitched." Now this sounds like a funny story.

Cast: The actors were probably one of the biggest aspects of the movie. The cast was funny, but also believable. The late Jim Varney (Jed) was great in one of his best "non-Ernest" roles. Dabney Coleman (Mr. Drysdale) was convincing in his role. He probably got the experience from doing "9 to 5," which also starred his co-star Lily Tomlin. Lea Thompson and Rob Schneider (Laura and Tyler) play two cons who are trying to steal the Clampett fortune. They should've known better than going up against the Clampetts. There were many other great and hilarious performances from stars like Cloris Leachman, Erika Eleniak, and Diedrich Bader.

Humor: There was the prefect balance of humor and seriousness in this movie. And the crude humor was low. If there was too much stupid or crude humor, it would've brought down the whole movie. But there was just the right amount of humor, so the movie was good.

This one may be a bit too much for the younger viewer, unless it's been edited for a few bad jokes. I recommend this one for anybody who just wants to see a funny movie.

The Beverly Hillbillies finally hits the big screen for the first time. The movie is about Jed Clampett who wants to shoot a rabbit, but missed until, up out of nowhere, Jed struck black gold which makes him and his family move to Beverly Hills. This movie has an all star cast like Jim Varney who plays Jed instead of Ernest. Also, Rob Schneider and Lea Thompson play two villains who want to steal the Clampett's money. Although, this movie brings old memories from the original show, I just don't like the idea of good T. V. shows like this that have villains in it. In my case, that ruins the whole movie.

I liked this film version of the television show because it makes me laugh on a rainy day or when I am having a bad day. The casting is excellent. I feel that Jim Varney plays an excellent Jed Clampett. I wish there was a sequel when he was still alive. Sadly, he's gone. I think we saw him apart from his Ernest character a lot more in Jed. He seem to feel right at home in this character. Cloris Leachman is a hoot as Granny and I really felt that she enjoyed the role. Erika Leniak does an actually good job as Elly May Clampett. She seems to fit at right home with the role. I liked Diedrich Bader as both Jethro and his twin sister Jethrine. Bader is really an excellent comedic actor. I thought Lily Tomlin played Ms. Jane Hathaway in her own updated style. I felt this Jane had more gusto than Nancy Culp did in the series. Dabney Coleman is always fun to see and in this one as Drysdale. I liked him and Tomlin together. I liked Penny Fuller as Mrs. Drysdale and Kevin O'Connell who plays their son, Morgan. I felt Morgan and Elly could have gotten together. I liked Linda Carlson as Jethro's mother. I wished she was on more. Rob Schneider and Lea Thompson really do a good job as con-artists after the Clampetts. But I really enjoyed watching this film to see the stars like Zsa Zsa Gabor, Miguel Ferrer, Buddy Ebsen as Rockford, Dolly Parton, etc. Their cameos made it worth while to see them. It's nice to see Zsa Zsa poke fun at herself on screen in anything.

The guy who plays Jed, the father figure does an excellent job and I can watch that man paint a car green and not get bored. The other actors are a mixed bag. The plot of the film is dated, and not in a good way but the film itself is am okay time killer.

As a kid I loved this movie it's silly and everything but it was fun. Watching it now it's bad but it's pure 90's bad but it's fun at times. If you didn't grow up watching the film you won't like it but if you liked it as a kid you'll be entertained enough.

You shouldn't go into watching this movie thinking you'll get something great or novel. After all, it IS based on the silly old TV series, which I thoroughly enjoyed back then. Erika Eleniak, former Playboy model, who plays Ellie May, is strikingly beautiful and does a fine job in this role. The late Jim Varney is also very good as Jed Clampett, Lily Tomlin is good in her role. Lea Thompson (first of Back To The Future fame) shows her acting range in a role as the scheming "French teacher" out to get Jed's money. I didn't particularly care for Rob Schneider's role, but wat the heck. Still, anyone who enjoyed the TV series should have fun watching this film.

Yes, I said "One of the worst movies ever made." And even that might be praising it too highly. Because unlike a "Plan Nine From Outer Space," "The Beverly Hillbillies" doesn't even have that "it's so bad it's good!" quality. BH is just so bad it's bad.

Understand that I was a fan of the TV series. I was actually looking forward to seeing the movie! What a terrible disappointment.

What's wrong with it, you ask? Really, just one thing: It isn't funny. I didn't laugh one time. How in the world could we have Dabney Coleman and Lilly Tomlin (not to mention Jim Varney, Cloris Leachman and several other genuinely talented people) in the same movie and come up with absolutely zero laughs?

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go dig out my copy of "Ishtar." That's an absolute laugh riot compared to this turkey.

If i could pick a movie to be on my 10 movies i never want to have seen, this movie would be near the top. If the plot had been any lamer, this movie probably would not have been released. It would have been burned and the ashes locked in a vault never to bee seen again. As i said in my summary "Gag Me with a spoon this movie was terrible!"

Well was I surprised when I saw the overall rating for this movie. What in the world were the voters thinking to rate it so low? I laughed and laughed and laughed. What does it take to make a good movie, anyway. If it can make you laugh and lose yourself in the comedy, if the acting is superb, the screenplay A-1, and the directing superb, doesn't it deserve AT LEAST A 7? I, for one rate it an easy 8 and consider it a classic. The late Jim Varney did a masterpiece here, all the rest of the cast were superb. PLEASE WATCH THIS MOVIE.

I was excited when this movie was announced because I had been raised on the reruns. I walked into the theater sat down and was prepared to be entertained. Actually, I was very disappointed. Only the characters of Granny and Jedd were worth their salt. The character of Jethro had been dumbed down to an absolute idiot and Ellie Mae became more of a tomboy than was ever present on the show. Jim Varney did a very good job, I would have to say Buddy Ebson had to have been proud, especially since he had a cameo in the movie. Cloris Leachman was an OK Granny, I went in disappointed because when she tried out for the part she had yet to have seen an episode. Also, I am from the Appalachian area of North Carolina so I know what mountain talk sounds like. Everyone but Jim Varney absolute butchered the Southern dialect, it wasn't even funny. All in all the only thing you get out of this is a good job by Jim Varney and very vague resemblance of the television show.

...and this movie is definitely in the latter category. This sorry excuse of a movie offends me in the same way that "Police Academy 7" and "Lawnmower Man 2" did. Frankly, it might have the worst quality/budget quotient of any movie ever made. Hmm, no that would be "Hook". Anyway, if this extremely low-brow piece of offal is anything like the original TV series I am beside myself with joy that it has never been on here in Sweden.

Reference - 10 Star Comedies: "Groundhog Day" (romantic), "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (wacky), "Evil Dead 2" (splatter).

Derided by almost all critics I have read citing it as a truly awful film - but I thought it was reasonably funny with quite good casting.

I thought Diedrich Bader as the very dumb Jethro (and Jethrine) was the best.

Yes, it could have been alot better, but some scenes and dialogue were good enough to raise a smile.

"The Beverly Hillbillies" was a very well known and popular sixties TV show, that many people grew up with, and still enjoy to this very day. The show was about a very rural, and country family, who strike oil on there land, become immensely wealthy, and move out to the big city in California. Basically, it was "a fish out of water" story. However, the problem with this TV to movie adaptation is this: "What works in a TV show, won't work in a movie." You can't have a movie run on just one premise! A film's plot requires much more than that. The plot of the film is this: a sleazy con-man finds out about The Clampett's massive fortune, and he and his girlfriend devise a plan to steal all of their money, and The Clampetts and their friends must stop them. I really don't need to say anything else, because that's all that goes on in this movie. The plot is nothing new, and as a matter of fact, this movie, "The Addams Family", and "Addams Family Values" have the exact same plot! many of the jokes are flat, and unfunny. Not to mention, the film is as predictable as can be. It's a shame how the movie turned out. Especially considering how extremely talented the cast is! Jim Varney, Diedrich Bader, Erika Eleniak, Dabney Coleman, Lea Thompson, and Rob Schneider, all give very good performances. The film fails, because of its weak script, and rehashed plot. Despite all its flaws however, I will give the film a few positive accolades: The cameo with Buddy Ebsen (Who was the original Jed Clampett by the way.) was very funny. But most of all, the film did not make a mockery of what the original series was, nor did the film parody the original show. Which many TV- to-film remakes do. I'm very thankful that the writer/writers and director chose not to go with either of those options, and I tip my hat to them for that! So, here's what it all comes down to: "Is The Beverly Hillbillies a bad film?" No. "Is it a great film?" No. It had a lot of potential to be a great film, but it suffered from very poor writing. The best thing that I can say about this film, is that out of all the recent TV-to-film remakes, this one is the least bad. None of the TV-to-film remakes have ever come close to capturing the spirit or magic of the original series, and this film failed as well, but I must give credit to this film for actually trying.