chandlercanfly

Oh yes, I rented it. Of my own accord, with my own $1.32. I was wary of the whole Madonna thing, but assuming that Rupert Everett (of My Best Friend's Wedding and An Ideal Husband fame) would never do anything TOO stupid, I gave in. And, had I not been watching this with friends, I would have turned it off and returned it half-way through.

This film is a human rights violation. How on earth do movies like this get MADE? Honestly, spending more than a dirty million on a piece of crap like these has got to be a crime. Madonna is pathetic, as always, Everett wouldn't be anything to complain about if his character weren't so silly and moody. Terribly uneven. Together they have a small amount of chemistry, but that falls completely apart after they decide to raise their child together. The secondary characters- Everett's parents, Madonna's future husband and her ex, are unlikeable. The plot is meandering and DULL- and FAR TOO LONG. The only things that should be commended in this clunker of a (sorta)rom-com-drama is the perception of Madonna as a yoga instructor (it works, somehow), and Rupert Everett's eyes comically enlarging as the sole supplier of the only (and few) laughs.

Don't waste your time when you could be seeing perfectly good family dramedies like Kramer vs. Kramer.

Although teen movies are never to be taken seriously, this is one of the silliest. The plot (if you want to call it that) is mildly entertaining, but the production just doesn't seem to pull together. The dialogue is definitely some of the worst ever written. The characters are stupid, typical, and seem to wander about their high school hell aimlessly (a single text book is NEVER OPENED). The soundtrack isn't even all that great, which is weird for a teen movie.

Why bright young talents like Rachael Leigh Cook, Kieran Culkin, Gabrielle Union, Clea Duvall and Anna Paquin (especially!) wasted their time and energy on this is beyond me. If you must watch a cheesy teen movie, please skip this one and watch Drive Me Crazy or Ten Things I Hate About You instead.

Grand Hotel is full of drama. Seemingly character-driven, it plows it's way (somewhat elegantly) through the story of hotel residents and how their lives affect one another over a brief period of time. The cast is pretty solid, exception of Greta Garbo, who seems utterly uncertain of what she is supposed to be doing. The premise itself isn't a lousy one, but it's not impressive. The setting is interesting enough, but it's never used to it's full potential.

Film of this sort was certainly considered special at the time it was made, but unfortunately the glamor and intensity is a bit lost to us in the 2000's. It's easy to understand this being remarkable (a best-picture winner) in the 1930's, but now it just seems like an over-blown, over-dramatized, overrated movie. Good, but not outstanding.