Two children of divorce bond in this gentle, character-driven comedy from acclaimed director Robert M. Young. Franny (Trini Alvarado, in her feature film debut) knows her wealthy parents (John Lithgow and Kathryn Walker) are splitting up. Though they keep up a good front, she’s well aware that her father sleeps elsewhere and then sneaks into their apartment at 5 a.m. At her exclusive private school, she bonds with new kid Jamie (Jeremy Levy), who at the age of 12 is already an old hand at dealing with divorced parents. As he helps her navigate the tricky emotional terrain, the two grow close and consider sexual explorations, setting the stage for an explosive confrontation with their clueless parents. Young made a name for himself as a documentarian, most notably with his Peabody-winning civil rights film Sit-In (1960). He moved into narrative features with the screen version of Miguel Pinero’s explosive prison drama Short Eyes (1977), followed by a study of illegal immigration, Alambrista! (1977), which won the Camera d’Or at Cannes. For Rich Kids, he worked with producers Robert Altman and George W. George on a script by George’s wife, playwright Judith Ross.  They did location shooting on New York’s exclusive Upper West Side, including the Calhoun School. Unfortunately, their parent studio, United Artists, cut the film’s budget to pump more money into Heaven’s Gate (1980). Alvarado went on to a long career in such films as Mrs. Soffel (1984) and Little Women (1994). This was Levy’s only film credit. He dropped out of the business and eventually became a physics professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

by Frank Miller