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Rating: 2 out of 5
If you have ever been to the rich and high life of Beverly Hills, then you must take a quick ride by The Beverly Hills Hotel. The hotel is located on Sunset Boulevard. Watch out for Norma Desmond; she might be looking for her close-up. The Beverly Hills Hotel is one of the world’s most well-known hotels for its high life with Hollywood, celebrities, and the wealthy. With over 210 rooms and a price tag that only the wealthy could afford, you could find a hotel down the street. If you heard of the song “Hotel California” by the Eagles, it is somewhat based on this famous hotel.
This brings me to today’s review. Recently, I watched a film called California Suite. A film directed by Herbert Ross from a screenplay by Neil Simon, which is ironically based on a play. The film follows four separate stories, some funny and others drama-filled. The film is divided into four stories about the loving, “happy” guests staying at the luxury hotel. Like many films based on a play, this one has an ensemble cast starring Alan Alda, Michael Caine, Bill Cosby, Jane Fonda, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Richard Pryor, and Maggie Smith.
With this being a play, it is presented as one, with four different stories in which none of the characters interact with each other. That is the problem with this film. It’s like watching four short stories rolled into a movie. There should’ve been intermissions with this film. At the beginning of the film, we are introduced to each character as they arrive and check into the famous hotel. Once everyone arrives, the film focuses on each story from beginning to end.
The first story is called “Visitors from New York.” It focuses on Hannah Warren (Fonda) and her ex-husband, Bill (Alda), and their fight/discussion over their daughter, Jenny (Plato). This story was drama-filled as we are introduced to Hannah, who flew from Manhattan to Los Angeles to retrieve her daughter. Hannah is a workaholic, while Bill is a successful screenwriter who has moved on. Jenny wants to stay with Bill, but Hannah is not having it as she views her losing her daughter. Hannah seems like a loving mother, but also a bitch. She is condescending and seems sad because Bill is doing okay for himself. Hannah complains about everything rather than looking out for what is best for her daughter. The whole episode is tiring because you see two people at odds with each other. I wondered how court would’ve been between these two because Hannah seems nasty to be around.
The second story was called “Visitors from Philadelphia.” This story was played more on the comedy side and was a great relief from the seriousness of “Visitors from New York.” We are introduced to Marvin Michaels (Matthau), a middle-aged, conservative businessman who lives an ideal life. Marvin is spending his birthday in L.A. His brother Harry decides to upend his relaxing trip by hiring a prostitute as a surprise. This is where a hilarious situation arises. When Marvin wakes up the next day, he discovers Bunny, aka the prostitute, passed out in his bed. Marvin tries to think of every way he can to wake her and get her out of his room before his loving wife, Millie, shows up. When Millie discovers Bunny, Marvin is in deep shit. This story was by far the funniest because Marvin tries his best and panics. You can see he is a loving husband, and his brother screwed him over.
The third story, returning to a drama-filled situation, is “Visitors from London.” This story revolves around Diana Barrie (Smith), a British actress who is nominated for the first time for the Academy Award for Best Actress. A win could save her almost dead career, but she knows she doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell. The nomination isn’t where the drama in this story lies. The drama is with Diana’s marriage as she is in MAJOR denial. She is married to Sidney Cochran (Caine), who was a closeted gay man, but he is letting the world know he is gay now. Diana doesn’t deal well with this fact as she deeply loves Sidney, but the stress of the night is getting to her.
The final story and back to the comedy is “Visitors from Chi-Town.” This one is hilarious because it stars Richard Pryor as Dr. Chauncey Gump and Bill Cosby as Dr. Willis Panama. Both men work together and decide to go on vacation together with their wives. Things turn out badly for the couple. Panama seems to relish the fact that he can get under Gump’s skin by putting him in a shitty room, having something go wrong at a restaurant, and trying to cheat at a tennis game. Things come to a head when Gump and Panama come to blows in an epic fight.
That is the entire film. Four stories interchanging between drama and comedy. Overall, the film was meh. It starts off hard with two parents going at it over their daughter, but the consistency factor was off. I would’ve rather be like the 1932 film, Grand Hotel. The structure and flow of that film worked with many guests, all dealing with their own shit during a couple of days at the hotel. The problem with California Suite is that it felt all over the place and didn’t seem to have taken place in one hotel. The biggest thing was the film’s flow. We watch one story from beginning to end, then another. This should’ve been a short story film rather than a feature film. It runs like a play. With different acts, it fails as a film. I also thought this film would be a full comedy from the box cover.
As far as the acting goes, I want to start off with the bad. Pryor and Cosby came off the worst. It made black people look like squabbling idiots in the film. You could tell they were only used for their comic relief. You have one of comedy’s greatest geniuses, Pryor, reduced to a punchline in this film. Cosby was the same way. It felt like they were afterthoughts throughout the film, and when it was their time to shine, they were placed in unusual places and situations that felt off.
The best interaction was between Dame Maggie Smith and Sir Michael Caine. Smith is excellent in this role, as she shows the ups and downs of an actress whose career is on the decline, and her marriage to a gay man is almost at its end. Smith gives a passionate plea to Caine’s character, Sidney, at night. Sidney is as cool as a cucumber. Caine played his role so well that you were drawn to him because he was the lighter fluid to Diana’s pain. This one act should’ve been the entire movie. Smith won her second Academy Award for this role.
California Suite is one of those films that is meh. It is not awful, but it is not great. It is right in the middle. It is a film based on a play, presented as a play with four acts. There is nothing wrong with focusing on one act at a time, but this film messed up the pacing. Smith and Caine were excellent in their respective roles and really carried this film. Next time you are in Cali, swing by the Beverly Hills Hotel and keep on driving, as there are cheaper hotels around.
