The Hotel New Hampshire
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Movie Reviews of The Hotel New Hampshire
Movie Review: A Part of the Journey
Summary: 3 Stars
This is a story about life and the many facets of love, dreams and aspirations, and the journey of discovery we all have to make in our own way in our own time. But the single thread that runs through the film and ties the characters and their lives together is sorrow; and in this instance, using an extremely overt metaphor, "Sorrow" is the family pet-- a dog-- who comes to symbolize a seemingly prevalent condition of the Berry family in "The Hotel New Hampshire," written for the screen and directed by Tony Richardson, adapted from the novel by John Irving. The story centers on the Berry family, a close but eccentric clan, and is told from the perspective of John (Rob Lowe), who tries to make sense of his too familiar relationship with his sister, Frannie (Jodie Foster), his gay older brother, Frank (Paul McCrane), his literally "little" sister, Lilly (Jennifer Dundas) who "isn't a midget," but who stopped growing too soon, the youngest of the bunch, Egg (Seth Green), his grandfather, Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) and his parents (Beau Bridges and Lisa Banes).John's father, Win, was a dreamer, or as Lilly called him, a "Gatsby," always looking for something better, for "it." Win and Mother Berry had met one summer working together at a hotel, and when Win tires of his job as a school teacher, he decides their town needs a hotel. So he buys an abandoned building that suits his needs perfectly, and transforms it into a hotel, the Hotel New Hampshire, owned and operated by the entire Berry family. And it is here that the memories of his formative years are made for John; memories like struggling with his love for his sister while she lives through a particularly traumatic experience that involves a boy of whom she is enamored, Chip Dove (Matthew Modine), and tasting love himself for the first time with a waitress at the hotel (Joely Richardson). It is also at this time that he experiences a death in the family for the first time. And, as it is in life, it won't be the last; nor will it be his final encounter with tragedy and sorrow.
In this film, Richardson touches upon a number of themes that at one time (and not that long ago) would have been considered taboo in a film: Homosexuality, incest and interracial relationships. And he does it successfully by weaving them into the story naturally and objectively, without expounding upon or exploring them simply to enhance the drama. This is simply the story of the Berry family, for better or worse, with John telling it like it is while refraining from any sensationalism or judgment calls, to which the likes of a film of this nature would ordinarily be disposed.
Lowe gives a convincing performance as John-- arguably some of the best work he's ever done-- and he underscores his role of narrator by making the story as much about the others as about himself, which is generous, and a good piece of acting. Foster, who would've been twenty-one or twenty-two when this was filmed (1984), displays an insight, poise and maturity well beyond her years, with a performance that is intuitively discerning and believable, and which serves the character so well while bringing her vividly to life. There is such a natural quality to Foster's acting that it makes her a joy to watch, and it makes Frannie a memorable character. The young Dundas is also very impressive in the role of Lilly and, like Foster, manages to bring the necessary maturity to the character that makes her entirely credible.
The supporting cast includes Wallace Shawn (Freud), Dorsey Wright (Junior), Cali Timmins (Bitty), Anita Morris (Ronda Ray) and Walter Massey (Texan). The film is by turns poignant, funny and disturbing; one could say a succinct reflection of life. And, diverse as this story is, thematically, there will undoubtedly be one aspect of it or another to which just about anyone will be able to relate. Because that's what life is; a journey we all share, but which we take on different roads that sooner or later are bound to intersect, and which becomes the point at which we realize something that's inescapable and possibly the most important thing we will ever learn: That we are not alone in this. And, in the final analysis, that is what "The Hotel New Hampshire" is all about. And that's the magic of the movies.
Movie Review: Those of us who haven't read the book will flounder
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is a very pretty movie with a strong cast, good direction and interesting ideas - so why does it fail to be a great film? Largely because as it stands, it's very disjointed; it appears that the screenwriters took only small snips from the book without bothering to segue from one development to the next, leaving the viewer who hasn't read the novel to flounder in bewilderment.In a nutshell, we view the family through Rob Lowe's character's eyes, as he tells us about their struggles over the years. While the story focuses on John (Lowe) and Frannie (Foster,) everyone has an important part to play. The family faces trial after trial, from death to rape to incest to relocating themselves to another continent, but their ties to each other keep them strong. That is, most of the time: There are moments and actions when suddenly the family can't keep itself cohesive, with disastrous results that are only barely explained. It seems everyone is looking for something bigger, better and *more*, but they cannot seem to find it, either within themselves or without. John tells the story in a very matter-of-fact way, without casting blame or judgment on anyone for their thoughts or behaviors, even though some would find room for condemnation. He seems to be saying "Folks are folks, and sometimes behave in unusual extreme ways; but that doesn't mean they're bad people, or without feeling."
However, motives are usually not clear; characters act completely out of character for no imaginable reason, on small and grand scales, leading to large developments which have no foundation. Rob Lowe and Jodie Foster perform very well, especially given their age and experience in 1984, and they actually do a good job with what they're given. Paul McCrane's character could have been much more interesting, but he is relegated almost to cameo status, and we're never quite sure why he and Seth Green's character are so obsessed with Sorrow, the family's unfortunate dog (and the basic underlying theme to the entire story.)
There are some very warm and funny moments in the film, as well as a couple of poignant ones - but we don't know or care about the characters well enough to truly feel their pain when someone important to them passes away. The audience is left with far more questions than answers, when it all comes right down to it.
It's not a bad movie on it's own, but neither is it *good*.
Movie Review: Skimming
Summary: 2 Stars
If you have not read the book, then this movie may intrigue you. It is quirky and interesting to say the least. As a storyline it does not lack imagination. From Maine to Vienna to NYC and back to Maine, from the Jew-hating German tourists to the radicals and the [...], from one Hotel New Hampshire to another, the dreams of a father and his colourful family unfold in a series of bizarre and at times disturbing events. And life appears to be a fairy tale that we live as we chase our dreams.
Now, in relation to the actual book, this movie can be described with just one word: RUSHED. The adaptation is so faithful that it tries to cover almost everything, all characters and all events, thereby failing miserably to project the sentiment behind the eccentric story of this highly unusual family. I could go on and on about how the accurate quotes from the original text fall flat on a screenplay that comes across truncated and patched together clumsily, how the scenes lack emotional depth, how the characters are not given enough time to be adequately developed... but I will instead characterise the whole attempt as noble but short. If the book was a long wave-like function, with a rise to a crest, then a drop followed by a building surge and another rise to another crest, over and over and over again, then the movie was just a cross-section of the top parts of this rollercoaster of a wave-like function, shaving off all the crests and placing them in a two hour blender, where they were shaken and served to please God knows what. Surely not the potential of this fascinatingly bizarre book, nor its undercurrent and extremely subtle magical tone. And it was not for lack of effort. It was for lack of realism on how to put on screen a highly bizzare story in a way that flows smoothly rather than jump spastically between scenes. A mini series would have worked much better for such a faithful adaptation. Either that or a more free-flowing interpretation that could possibly make sense within the 120 minutes that are usually allocated to a motion picture.
Thank God for Jodie Foster's and Beau Bridges's performances, who bring Fanny and Win Berry to life. Keep passing the open windows and read the book for a much richer and meaningful experience. As far as this movie is concerned, just toss it out as far as you can. And if you are to keep it, then do so to remind yourselves of how to NOT adapt a great book onto the screen. This is the only reason why I keep mine.
Movie Review: A chopped-up mix of eccentricity in HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE
Summary: 2 Stars
That the exploits of the very odd (to say the least) Berry family contains some wonderful performances from the young Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe in Tony Richardson's adaptation of John Irving's THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE goes without saying; but the chopped-up manner in which Richardson has handled Irving's narrative also goes without saying that it is a terrible hack job that flits quickly from scene to scene hardly allowing any of Irving's characters to develop, much less breathe.What we have here, in short, is a ghastly mess of a film about "passing windows" successfully without jumping out of them! There are so many themes that Richardson has drawn from Irving's novel,but not one of them is followed through successfully, and the result is a jolting ride leaving the viewer scratching their heads and saying "What was he thinking?".The only two characters that seem to survive in this film are Franny and Johnno thanks to the acting skills of Foster and Lowe respectively, as two sexual obsessed brother and sister who pine for each other.The relationship between those two is monitored more closely than the rest of this rag-tag bunch of eccentrics who are given erratic amounts of screen time which does not allow their characters to become anymore than just someone "Passing a window" of which they should have all jumped out...including Richardson.This film suffers from misguided direction and an inept screenplay adaptation.Only the performances of Foster and Lowe are at all noteworthy in this throwaway debacle! No small wonder that it took Irving,himself, to finally adapt his own work in THE CIDER HOUSE RULES before getting a proper treatment of his always odd
characters!
Movie Review: Bizarrely entertaining
Summary: 2 Stars
This movie is quite odd, but never boring. I didn't read the John Irving book from which it was adapted, but I can guess that, as is typical of the author, the book must juggle a multitude of characters and sub-plots. Unfortunately, it really doesn't work as a movie and ends up feeling like a series of loosely connected vignettes. The plot speeds along much too quickly and characters appear and disappear without much reason. The movie does, however, have a few positive points... First, the cast is first-rate and Rob Lowe has one of his most unusual roles (this was his third movie after "The Outsiders" and "Class"), as a confused young man lusting after his sister (Jodie Foster, who's ok). Paul McCrane (ER's Dr. Romano) has one of his few relatively large film roles. The movie looks great, with beautiful location shooting with Canada substituting for New Hampshire and Vienna. Finally, this is probably the only place you can see Matthew Modine being raped by a person in a bear suit. Overall, a very strange journey that makes little sense and doesn't bear up to much scrutiny. A definite disappointment.