Moviefone Editorial

Tag: shelley-long

  • ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ Cast Reunites for 30th Anniversary

    ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ Cast Reunites for 30th Anniversary

    Columbia Pictures

    What a thrill! The Wilderness Girls are back together again.

    The cast of the feel-good 1989 comedy “Troop Beverly Hills” reunited to mark its 30th anniversary. Shelley Long, Tori Spelling, Betty Thomas, Kellie Martin, and others came together for an “Entertainment Tonight” special airing March 26.

    The movie follows Beverly Hills socialite Phyllis Nefler (Long) who is undergoing a contentious divorce and seeks to prove her worth to her estranged husband. She becomes a den mother to a troop of Beverly Hills Girl Scouts that her young daughter belongs to. Her unorthodox ways run her afoul of a rival troop leader (Thomas), but Phyllis and the girls persevere at the regional Jamboree.

    During the reunion, Long led the cast members in the classic chant from the film: ““We’re the girls from Beverly Hills, shopping is our greatest skill! We will fight and try real hard, leave behind our credit card! Beverly Hills, what a thrill! Beverly Hills, what a thrill!”

    Long also praised her co-stars. “May I say? I am so proud of these girls and this girl too,” she said. “And that’s really why I did this, because of the girls. They are so wonderful.” And for all the fans out there? “Well, you can be a Beverly Hills girl! One, two, three, four!”

    Entertainment Tonight
  • 10 Things You Never Knew About ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ on its 30th Anniversary

    10 Things You Never Knew About ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ on its 30th Anniversary

    Columbia

    It’s now been 30 years since “Troop Beverly Hills” arrived in theaters. Sure, the movie didn’t meet with much critical or commercial success at the time, but it’s since become a cult classic that also launched the careers of several actresses. So let’s celebrate that milestone with a few fun facts about this Girl Scout comedy.

    1. “Troop Beverly Hills” marks the acting debut of several future Hollywood stars, including Carla Gugino, Kellie Martin and Tori Spelling.

    2. Gugino lied about her age in order to land the role of Chica Barnfell, pretending to be 14 instead of 16.

    Columbia

    3. Phyllis describes her courtroom outfit as being a Van Runkle design. This is a nod to the film’s costume designer,  Theadora Van Runkle.

    4. The intro sequence was animated by future “The Ren & Stimpy Show” creator John Kricfalusi.

    Nickelodeon

    5. The film is actually inspired by the life of producer Ava Ostern Fries, who once served as a Girl Scout troop leader and even brought her troop to stay in the Beverly Hills Hotel.

    6. Fries turned down the chance to make the movie at Disney because she disagreed with the studio’s choice of star, Bette Midler.

    Buena Vista

    7. While she plays Shelley Long‘s rival in the film, Betty Thomas would later transition to directing and even directed Long in 1995’s “The Brady Bunch Movie.”

    8. Singers Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello have cameos in the movie as joggers outside the Beverly Hills Hotel. Funicello can actually be heard singing her own 1959 single “Tall Paul.”

    Columbia

    9. The Girls Scouts refused to endorse the film, with the organization objecting to the way some of the characters were depicted.

    10. Jenny Lewis, who plays the character Hannah, later teamed up with “Boy Meets World’s” Blake Sennett to form the band Rilo Kiley.