The Grand Budapest Hotel

I look forward to watching the latest Wes Anderson films but I certainly do not look forward to reviewing them. It is so hard (for me anyway) to properly explain the oddity of his characters and the quirkiness of his humor in a manner that does it any justice. And to be honest, I haven't really found many other critics that are capable of doing this either. Despite this fact however, he has almost become an American institution based off of word of mouth alone. And as a result you have packed indie theaters full of curious moviegoers who simply don't get his humor and look at you in disgust when you're laughing out loud at his jokes. Although at this point, given the uppity indie theater I attend here in Austin, I can't tell if it's Anderson rookies that are looking at me sideways or if it's just the regular movie snobs who are upset with me for ruining their theater experience. These are the same people who sit in the theater's lobby before the film and sip on their coffee or hot chocolate while wearing mock turtlenecks or Columbia fleeces. And just after the finish their exhaustingly long discussion about the latest Lars Von Trier "masterpiece" they file their way into the theater to experience cinema greatness and give it golf claps as the credits roll; for which they stay until the very end. So needless to say, anything about a slight chuckle is unacceptable to these people.

Anyway, I can over romanticize Anderson's films by rambling about how they try and bring humor to life's hard moments like I did for Moonrise Kingdom but I will spare you. Just know that while some of that exists in his latest film Budapest, for the most part this movie feels like more of a departure from that and more of a return to Bottle Rocket and Life Aquatic.

This film focuses on the story of the infamous and well respected hotel concierge of The Grand Budapest Hotel Gustave H, played by one of my favorites in Ralph Fiennes. Members of high society travel from all over Europe to stay at this hotel, in part because of him. He runs a tight ship and has a penchant for quoting romantic poetry and seducing older women; mainly because they are lonely, needy, and easy. And when I say older women, I mean grandmothers! Yes, its as disgusting as it sounds yet quite hilarious.

One day as he is training the new lobby boy, who eventually becomes his closest and most trusted friend, he learns of the death of one of his latest conquests, Madame D (Tilda Swinton). The second he arrives at her estate to pay his respects, he also learns that he has inherited from her the priceless painting Boy With Apple. Her money hungry family is having none of it however, despite the fact that she left the majority of her estate to her slimy son Dmitri(Brody) and his three sisters who look like the witches from the original Clash of the Titans with Harry Hamlin. So someone in the family devises a plan to frame Gustave for the murder of Madame D and the race is on to clear his name before he spends the rest of his life in prison.

Now I know all of this sounds a bit heavy but in typical Wes Anderson fashion, he finds a way to make greed, evil conspiracy, and insecurity funny. Most of the film's funny parts are provided by the jackassery of Dmitri and by the brutality of his muscle, Jopling (Dafoe). Jopling by the way has one of the best intros ever for a character. If you have ever played the video game Mike Tyson's Punch Out, just think about the numerous times you lost to one of it's characters and then picture their dance and subsequent celebration; and that pretty much sums up his intro. If you have never played that game and have no clue what I am talking about, well that's your loss and you'll just have to experience it on your own when you see this film.

With that said, Budapest has all of the classic Anderson elements you'd expect to see in his films: the occasional narration, the impeccable set and costume design, the touching love story (which takes place between the lobby boy and the pale but adorable Saoirse Ronan), and of course the obstacle course escape plan. All of the actors seem to be enjoying themselves, which is typically the case in Anderson's films, and it really comes across on screen.

I rate this movie as TIGHT and suggest that you see it. Just make sure you wear a mock turtle neck so that you fit in.