Jed Clampett, a hillsman of humble station of Arkansas, accidentally discovers oil on his land while shooting at a rabbit. Ozark Mountain Oil, interested in purchasing his land, offers him $1 billion for the property. Unsure of what to do, Jed consults his cousin, Pearl Bodine, during a family dinner. Pearl suggests a change of scenery for Jed's daughter, Elly May, would be a good thing. Pearl and Jethrine convince them to move to Beverly Hills California. Ozark Mountain Oil came by Jed's place to check to see if Jed signed the contract. Having made up his mind and signed the contract and move to Beverly Hills, Jed and his daughter, his mother-in-law Granny, and his nephew, Jethro, Pearl's son, load up Jethro's old, dilapidated truck with their possessions and move to Beverly Hills, California, even though Granny is reluctant to come. Milburn Drysdale, the CEO of the Commerce Bank of Beverly Hills, sends out his secretary/assistant, Jane Hathaway to meet the Clampetts at their new estate that is next door to his. Jane calls the Beverly Hills Police after the Clampetts arrive, mistaking them for burglars. Upon learning of Jane's mistake at the police station, Drysdale briefly fires her. But seeing that Jed insists that he still wants her to watch over his affairs, Drysdale rehires her. The Clampetts settle into their new surroundings. Drysdale pushes his reluctant son, Morgan Drysdale, into befriending Elly May, to whom he eventually develops an attraction. Jane is also smitten by Jethro, who seems ignorant of her affections. Jed requests Jane's assistance in helping him search for someone who will help turn Elly May into a lady and also wants to get married. So Miss Hathaway has to play matchmaker. Woodrow Tyler, an employee in Drysdale's bank, catches wind of this and contrives a scheme with his con artist girlfriend, Laura Jackson, to steal Jed's money by having her marry Jed. She poses as a French etiquette teacher, Laurette Voleur, and asks for work. "Laurette" feigns romantic interest in Jed, which eventually causes him to propose marriage to her. Shortly before the wedding, Granny hears Laura and Woodrow talking about the scam. Granny reveals herself to the pair and threatens to expose their scam to Jed, and the impending wedding will be off. But before she can, they capture her, restrain her, and have her institutionalized at the Los Viejos Nursing Home so she cannot contact Jed. At the wedding, Woodrow prepares to transfer all of Clampett's money in Drysdale's bank to a Swiss account on his laptop computer when the couple says "I do". Jane realizing Granny is missing, goes to the office of Barnaby Jones and after learning where Granny is and who Laura is, poses as a nurse and breaks her out. Granny and Jane arrive at the wedding and foil Laura and Tyler's plan when Jane grabs a shotgun and blows the laptop to bits, before they tried to steal Jed's money. The police arrest Laura and Woodrow while Jed decides that, since the wedding was off, they would have "one hellacious shindig."
The Dolly Parton "band" was composed of members of Rhino Bucket, the Dwight Yoakam Band, and Vern Monnett. Parton's appearance reunited her with 9 to 5 co-stars Lily Tomlin and Dabney Coleman.
Box office
In its first weekend, The Beverly Hillbillies grossed $9,525,375 at the box office. The film moved up to number one two weeks later. The total worldwide gross was $57,405,220, making it a moderate box office success.
Reception
The film received negative reviews, with a 22% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 32 reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film half a star out of a possible 4, arguing that it did not capture the appeal of the original, and did not improve the source material. Furthermore, wrote Ebert, The Beverly Hillbillies was a major disappointment for Spheeris after her surprising triumph with Wayne's World only a year before:
When directors make a wonderful movie, you look forward to their next one with a special anticipation, thinking maybe they've got the secret. If it turns out they don't, you feel almost betrayed. That's how I felt after The Beverly Hillbillies, one of the worst movies of this or any year.
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "B+" on scale of A+ to F.
