HOTEL DE LOVE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
I am not sure what Australia's chief export is, but I'd like to believe it is their films. The Australians have a knack for making quirky little comedies that work -- MURIEL'S WEDDING being one of their funniest. In HOTEL DE LOVE, they have sent to our shores an endearing and charming comedy populated with characters worth caring about. First time director Craig Rosenberg's HOTEL DE LOVE is not great cinema, but it is certainly an enjoyable diversion.
Steven and Rick Dunne are fraternal twin brothers who fall in love at first sight with the same girl at a party in high school. Simon Bossell plays Steve, Aden Young (from BLACK ROBE and the soon to be released COUSIN BETTE) plays Rick, and Saffron Burrows (from CIRCLE OF FRIENDS and IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER) plays their would-be girlfriend Melissa.
Sometimes a split second makes all the difference. It does for Steve. At the high school party he hesitates briefly which allows his brother to introduce himself first to the voluptuous redhead with the winning smile. From her beautiful face to her long legs, she has the beauty of a fashion model and yet the natural looks of the girl next door. Steve kicks himself for losing the best opportunity in his life.
The script, by the director, is a mixture of comedy and romance with a touch of poignancy thrown in every now and then. The tone of the film reminded me of the old TV series "Love American Style," albeit a little more explicit.
As the show opens, ever romantic Steve is at the airport with his notebook in hand, musing, "Do you ever look at people and wonder about their lives?" He is counting the number of people that are met by someone versus the number who leave alone. This allows him to compute and update his romance index. He believes in love even if he will never be able to forget his failure with Melissa.
After a brief liaison between Rick and Melissa, she disappears out of their lives for ten years until she runs into them on the weekend of her marriage to Norman. Rick is now the desk clerk at the tacky Hotel De Love. Every room there is different. My favorite is called Subterranean Passion and looks like something out of THE FLINTSTONES, complete with a big boulder for a door. The set decorator clearly had a blast with this assignment. A great parody of bad taste.
People either go to the Hotel De Love to get married like Melissa and Norman or to renew their wedding vows. Steve's and Rick's parents, played by Ray Barrett and Julia Blake, are there to renew theirs. Their parents fight constantly. Barrett plays the dad as the classic grouch. He wakes with the epithet, "Bloody hell; still alive." Rick, disgusted with their renewal farce, says, "Watching my parents renew their wedding vows is like watching ambulance drivers push the victims back into the wreck."
The other woman in the show is Alison (Pippa Grandison), the hotel's resident astrologer. She is Rick's current girlfriend, but he has had a long stream of other lovers before her. He spends his waking hours, however, pining for his first love, Melissa.
The script is sharp and witty and most of the laughs come from the dialog and not the wacky sets. Movies with physical comedy too often sink into slapstick worthy of bad TV sitcoms, but this movie rarely goes overboard. A typical, funny scene has Rick trying to talk to Melissa on a bench. He gets lodged between two passionate lovers also on the bench, and pretty soon they are fondling him by mistake. This is exactly the type of scene I normally hate, but they manage to make it seem just believable enough to be humorous.
The film is full of delicious little subplots. One has Steve popping in on Melissa to express his affection. "What are you doing?" she warns him. "You can't keep up your drive-by 'I Love You's." Another has her lamenting the futility of so-called love at first sight. She says, "My mother believed in love at first sight with Dad, with her second husband, and her third."
The ending has three parts. I thought the first was too pat, but the others are quite sweet. I left the theater feeling a little silly and quite happy. It is refreshing to see new directors with promise. I'll keep an eye out for Rosenberg's future comedies.
HOTEL DE LOVE runs a fast 1:36. It is rated R for brief nudity, some sexual groping, sexual humor, and some profanity. The show is tastefully done and would be fine for any teenager. I give the film a fun thumbs up, and ** 1/2.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: January 29, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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