Hotel de Love

Wow... This is not normally the type of movie that I watch. There are just a handful of romantic comedies that I really like. This one truly is one of the very best.

It is extremely well written and acted. Every character is portrayed perfectly. I love the humour in this which I feel is very funny and truly situational in the purest sense.

I saw this probably over 25 years ago, I had it on VHS. I believe I still have it. I was looking all these years to find it on DVD or somehow get a good print of it. FINALLY, after all this time, I found a nice HD print of it online.

In my lowly and wretched opinion, there are VERY few films on this type that are this good. To give you some idea at least as to what I find well done and entertaining I'll mention the few that come to mind. First and Foremost, primarily because I LOVE Sandra Bullock, the film she did with Hugh Grant called 'TWO WEEKS NOTICE' is probably my all time favourite. So, incredibly funny, both of them in absolute top form. A very close 2nd, and more of a Teen Comedy, but with romance, and perhaps an even better pure Comedy, would be 'BETTER OFF DEAD' with John Cusack.

Other films that I also really like which would fall under that one are 'AMERICAN SWEETHEARTS', 'FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL, and the other Hugh Grant films of this type. Honourable mention would go to 'SERENDIPITY'...

So, that will give you some idea that even though this is not the type of film I would normally choose to watch first (that would be mostly Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller, Film Noir, etc...) But, this one is most definitely one of my all time favourites!

And, what makes this one so good, in addition to it being brilliantly done, is that it has a very satisfying romantic side too.

So, yes, I gave this one a very rare '9' and I feel it very much deserves it.

I wanted to like this but the subplot of the other twin carrying on like love starved Puck or Bottom or whoever the hell he was supposed to be.... it is all just suburban theater put on film, in 1997. One minute this film actually almost becomes FOUR WEDDINGS etc and then it lapses into "wacky pratfall farce' on Pufnstuf Willy-Wonka sets and in some scenes THE RITZ but, oh, it keeps becoming some sort of dinner theater farce in some over produced sets with "ACTORS!!!" who are "ACTING...!!!" What might have seemed funny 20 years ago in this multiplex wannabee is not funny now when better slicker films are the norm. HOTEL DE LOVE is a cute idea with some money behind it, and very good looking young actors, but it lurches into amateur constantly, one dreadful downside of the writer also being the director and the enterprise needing a strong no nonsense helm. A re make in 2020 might be a better vision. Literally.

An interesting story completely spoiled by one ridiculous scene after another, with dialogue and acting to match. I love Australian movies, so I wasn't expecting to encounter such a stinker. Whatever humanity there is in the story is constantly spoiled by the characters' embarrassing actions and reactions, which are supposed to be funny. For a really good and witty Australian comedy, watch Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert instead.

Most Australian comedies that I have seen have disappointed me because their seemingly mandatory quirkiness is instantly supposed to be funny. For me at least, weird behaviour does not necessarily equal big laughs. "Hotel de Love" seemed to be a little less quirky, and perhaps that is why I liked it. That is not to say that this is without flaws, for it has one big one. But even though this film spends too much time showing the LEAST interesting couple, the other relationships are sufficiently interesting to overcome this mistake. I can't call this anything great, but it is certainly a pleasant way to kill some time.

Most romantic comedies these days seem content to get by on charm, but this is genuinely funny and romantic, despite the somewhat gaudy setting of a honeymoon hotel. Although there are quite a few flourishes (like the piano player playing kitsch 70's hits and being the one everyone talks to), it's grounded in real passions and feelings, which also helps the comedy. I especially like the scene between Melissa and Rick where they tell the truth to each other. I didn't know any of the actors in this movie except Saffron Burrows (who I hope goes on to bigger things), but they were all excellent as well.