Grande Hotel

I seem to recall that when "Four Rooms" came out, it was critically and commercially derided. When I saw it a few months later, I actually thought that it was pretty well done. I knew that Quentin Tarantino was involved in the making, so I could safely assume that there was an element of sleaze in the movie.

Well, the movie is likely to blow anyone away, just in terms of how far they go. Portraying bellhop Ted (Tim Roth) and his loony experiences on New Year's Eve while waiting on several people in a hotel, they blow everything out of the water. The first two segments are pretty lowbrow: the first one portrays a witches' coven and the second one portrays a psychopath who thinks that Ted had sex with his wife.

But when we get to the third segment, that's where the movie really takes off. Ted has to watch the children of a slick Mexican guy named Man (Antonio Banderas). After a few incidents, Man comes back and finds the room in the most mind-blowing scene imaginable. And, the last segment. Ted, in a totally frenetic state, goes to a room where several Hollywood guys are having a discussion (with as many curse words as possible). What happens at the end of that segment...well, let me just tell you that no one sees that coming! All in all, people who think that the movie didn't go anywhere obviously missed the point. I don't know for certain whether this movie was just an excuse to be crazy, but it sure seemed like that. You're sure to have fun watching it. Also starring Madonna, Valeria Golino, Jennifer Beals, Salma Hayek, and even Quentin Tarantino in the final segment playing a Hollywood type.

Four Rooms, the 4 part directed, 4 part written mix-matched movie turns out to be an awesome combination. With Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino working on this film, you seem to expect a trigger-happy film festival with plenty of bombs and explosives to spare. But what the final product turns out to be is a laugh-out-loud comedy which follows a bellhop's mishaps one night as he scrambles to keep his hotel in order. Tim Roth is always a great performer and in this movie there is no difference. Kudos indeed.

It's impossible to analyze this film without breaking it down into its four segments for separate comment. It would also be improper, since it was not intended to be anything less than an anthology from four notable independent filmmakers: Alexandre Rockwell, Alison Anders, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino.

The first episode is exactly the sort of thing that someone in a high school drama production would want to do, but can't get away with in a high school drama production. It's juvenile, unfunny, and lifeless, but it has the (pointless) nudity and lines of dialogue like:

Witch #1: "I am your mother."

Witch #2: "Then why are we sleeping together?"

that sound like the screenwriter is giggling and thinking, "I can't believe I'm getting away with this! I'm so clever!"

Nothing is at stake in the first episode; it's generally expected that a story must have conflict in order to BE a story. This has none. Just some half-baked jokes and a pair of topless women (If I wanted that, I'd skip renting a movie and go out instead.)

Second episode is a hair better, but you'll find yourself crying "Why doesn't Ted the Bellboy do [insert plot resolution here] and get the bloody hell out of there!" When it finally does end, you're disheartened to find that it had no reason to exist. Two snips with a pair of scissors, a bit of tape, and we wouldn't know the difference. Roll opening credits, go straight to the Rodriguez segment.

Third episode has some structural support to keep it from caving in on itself. The surprise in the middle (I won't give it away, don't worry) is horrifying enough to give the segment some heft. Rodriguez and his d.p., Guillermo Navarro, move it along dexterously and (as usual) have a good handle on visual comedy.

The last segment is the best. I think it's safe to say that Quentin Tarantino has, officially, never disappointed me as a director or screenwriter. My heart leapt as soon as I heard his trademark dialogue coming from the lips of Marisa Tomei as "Four Rooms" segued from "The Misbehavers" to "The Man From Hollywood." I wasn't sure if his take on Ted the Bellhop's misadventures was going to be any good, but I knew that if he wrote it and helmed it, it wasn't going to be all bad.

What a pleasant surprise (still just talking about the fourth segment here). This part of the movie, with its ridiculous premise (lifted form an old Hitchcock episode, which it acknowledges out loud), moves along speedily, and the actors take to it as naturally as any other movies by Q.T. Basically playing himself, Tarantino is hilarious. If anything, he knows A) how people really act when they're drunk (i.e. not like Dudley Moore caricatures) B) why people think he's so obnoxious, like a real-life, fast-talking Jar Jar Binks and C) how to put some bang in his visual storytelling. It's low-rent Tarantino, don't get me wrong, but it's also the best part of "Four Rooms."

All in all, the first film I've ever seen that starts out with a loathsome, horrifying badness, gets incrementally better with each passing fifteen minutes, and ends as good as one would like. Just don't make me watch it again.

"Four Rooms" is far more entertaining than you would expect from its generally negative reviews. Which is not to say that any of it is a masterpiece but if you enjoyed "Love American Style" on television and are not put off by a raunchy take on that anthology concept you should make an effort to view this film. Each story is taking place in a different room of a hotel the same night. It was made between the time Tarantino made "Pulp Fiction" and worked on "Dusk Till Dawn" with Rodriquez. Many in the large cast are Tarantino and Rodriquez regulars. Here are a few of the reasons to watch each of the four stories:

"The Missing Ingredient" - Madona has simply never looked better and her "come get me" dress will burn your eyeballs. Alicia Witt plays her stock alienated teen and delivers sarcasm as only she can.

"The Wrong Man" – Alexander Rockwell directed this segment shortly after directing "In the Soup" so he already knew how to get the most out of Jennifer Beals. Her diatribe about Ted's sex organ is a cinema classic.

"The Misbehavers" – Rodriquez directs his favorite actor Antonio Banderas in something that is a throwback to classic Laurel and Hardy. Not only do his two kids misbehave when left alone in their hotel room, but their misbehavior is so comprehensive that the closing shot reveals a room of total anarchy. It is wonderful slapstick on a huge scale, with comic timing worthy of the Laural and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.

"The Man From Hollywood" – This has the best script with Tarantino reserving the best stuff for his own character. He even reprises the "tasty beverage" line from "Pulp Fiction. Beals has already found her way to this room by the time bellboy Roth arrives and she delivers more good lines. I was impressed that Tarantino built up his suspense "before" the contest began and then did not try to extend the suspense but ended things on the first attempt.

The best bit in the whole film might be Roth's phone call to his boss. Marisa Tomei answers the phone in a room full of comatose post-New Years Eve partygoers. She then does a version of her "My Cousin Vinnie" expert witness routine, this time concerning types of handguns. In the foreground the entire time are the only other conscious (but totally stoned) inhabitants of the room. They are playing against each other in a video game. One just stares in stunned fascination at the screen, holding the controller but not using it as the other player maniacally manipulates his controller throughout the entire phone conversation.

I really don't understand why this movie got such bad reviews! Overall, this is a creative and refreshing movie. It is not Pulp Fiction but it is still a good performance. Tim Roth, especially, is the best thing in the film. Out of the four I like Robert Rodguize's misbehavior the best. The missing ingredient was indeed a bit cheesy but the rest are still above average performance. If you are interested in this movie but discouraged by the movie critics, I ensure you that you won't regret seeing it.