The Grand Budapest Hotel

I've come across more than a few times while doing this whole movie reviewing gig that I've had to admit some pretty pathetic things.

For instance, the fact that, as a movie buff, I haven't seen 99% of films made before 1990 (when I was born).

So I must admit something else at the beginning of this review to put a disclaimer on it:

I, Jordan Rath, have never seen a Wes Anderson film before I saw The Grand Budapest Hotel this weekend. I always thought they looked rather annoying and hipster-ish to the point where I would feel worse about myself for not understanding the jokes that were being made.

This thought was further escalated in my mind when I had to find a smaller, uber-hipster theater in Denver to even see this film. Needless to say I went in expecting to watch a movie that I wouldn't really enjoy and/or understand. I'm not entirely sure why I had that opinion of Anderson films, it just seems to be the one that I have formed in my mind over the years.

After seeing The Grand Budapest Hotel my opinion is completely the opposite. Anderson's quirkiness that extends to every frame isn't hipster-chic, it's comedy. And damn funny comedy at that. My time in that little theater room, without an empty seat in the house, with the smell of grandma perfumes, watching the fictional characters of the Grand Budapest run around was easily one of the most enjoyable times I've had at the theater in recent memory.

Some hilarious performances by these two  ^

Useless cameo is useless?
Yes.

At first, The Grand Budapest Hotel might seem like an overly complicated comedy but I assure you that despite its changing aspect ratios to reflect different time periods, this is no Inception. The story is actually remarkably straight forward and easy to follow. It's essentially a murder mystery as told through the aged eyes of the lobby boy. The film moves swiftly and at a short-and-sweet 1 hour and 39 minute runtime, Anderson has edited it to perfection. As far as the story is concerned I thought that it was not only fun from beginning to end but also intriguing. The ending could have been wrapped up a little tidier but that's a minor complaint. Anderson has also put together a stellar cast sprinkled with some iconic performances by Ralph Fiennes as the Budapest's concierge, M. Gustave and newcomer Tony Revolori as the lobby boy, Zero. Fiennes has some serious comedic talent and timing in this one and the parameters of his character are quickly laid out making his curse-filled outbursts that much more hilarious. Adrian Brody and Willem Dafoe also turn in some pretty funny scenes as the film's villains. Unfortunately, many of the cameos are completely useless. Jeff Goldblum and Edward Norton have quite a bit to do but other than them, stars like Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson are only left with a couple of lines and mere minutes of screen time. Personally I've never understood the purpose of cameos if you aren't going to take advantage of them so it baffles me why huge names like those I mentioned are given roles that could have gone to anyone. Anchorman 2 cameos these are not...

Willem Dafoe and Adrian Brody contemplating what happened
to their careers...ZING!

Before he turned into Voldemort

But again, that is such a minor complaint when the film is as high quality as this one. I truly fell in love with Anderson's style of filming. Every frame is such a complete view of what's going on that it is so easy to know where everyone is at and what you are supposed to be looking at in every single frame. It's truly an art form that has somewhat died in Hollywood of late. At first I was intimidated by the quirkiness of Anderson's films and now I've come to find that they suit them perfectly. It's never over done and it's charming as all hell. Perhaps the biggest star of the show here is the script. Penned by Anderson and Co. it is chock full of hilarious lines, memorable quotes, and the like. Each character has a distinct persona and the script is permanently grounded in that regard. It's far different humor than what I'm used to but I found it funny all the same. Lastly, the screenplay is filled to the brim with memorable scenes: a prison escape, the hotel's introduction, the family meeting with the lawyer, a pair of train rides, and my personal favorite: a thrilling downhill ski chase. To explain any of these more in detail would take away from their effectiveness.

Having done this for about 2.5 years now I feel like I know my main, revisiting audience pretty well. I'd be willing to bet that most of them are similar to me where they have never really given Anderson films a shot. I urge you, nay, I beg you to reconsider that and see The Grand Budapest Hotel when it comes to that theater near you. As a newcomer to his style of film you will have a grand time filled with plenty of laughter. And if I'm just a latecomer to the party and you are all Anderson fans then you will enjoy what I would guess is one of his best pieces of film to date.

I had such a fun time once I checked into The Grand Budapest Hotel, that I didn't want to leave so soon.

CONS:

• Some pretty useless cameos. Bill Murray and Owen Wilson getting like 5 lines each with less than 5 minutes of total screen time between the two of them (not to mention, none of their lines are all that funny) is just a waste of their talent
• The ending seems a bit abrupt and compared to the rest of the film it comes across as the weak link
• There was no reason for the third, most current time period. The story could have been told perfectly fine with just the two

PROS:

• Hooks you from start to finish, and this is coming from an originally non-Anderson fan
• The quirky nature that I once thought was overtly hipster and annoying is actually the crux of the comedy and does nothing but charm you
• Filmed beautifully. Anderson truly has a vision and knows what he wants every second of his film to look like. I wish that some other directors would take note and put more care into what all is fitting into the frame of the image scene by scene
• Ralph Fiennes kills it as M. Gustave. Who knew that He-who-must-not-be-named had so much comedic talent?
• The rest of the cast is superb, particularly Tony Revolori
• A fun story that is easy to follow and edited to a tight, hour and a half adventure. Brings truth to the quote "Time flies when you're having fun!". I love it when movies are short and sweet
• Some truly memorable scenes and dialogue
• Speaking of dialogue, A+ for the script. It's amazing
• Immensely enjoyable and fun. The Grand Budapest Hotel is a film that you will not regret going to for a second.

Rath's Review Score: 9.5/10