“All Style and No Substance”

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

The Grand Budapest Hotel Movie PosterTHE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL is the latest movie written and directed by Wes Anderson, and of all his movies that I have seen, I have either liked them or didn’t like them.

This one falls in the latter category.

Full disclosure: Granted, I have not seen all of his movies, but I did enjoy RUSHMORE, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS, and THE LIFE AQUATIC OF STEVE ZISSOU, which I enjoyed very much.

I believe that this latest movie has more style than substance and is as filling probably as the confectioneries that play such an important part in the story.

Oh, it contains plenty of story, just as it contains plenty of actors, such as Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Soirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, and Owen Wilson, many of whom were recognizable because of the size of their parts, but a couple I missed because they weren’t on screen long enough to recognize them.

Sure enough, the story is about a hotel, but it is not in Budapest, but rather in the fictional Republic of Zabrowka, which apparently is in Europe.

The story also jumps around in time, but mostly takes place in 1932, between the two world wars, which also play a part.

Mostly the story is about a concierge at the hotel, M. Gustave, played by Ralph Fiennes, and Zero, the Lobby Boy he hired on a trial basis, and whom Gustave tells, “Remember, I am always with you.”

Well, there is a dowager countess who dies and leaves Gustave something priceless in her will, but which is contested by her son.

Not only is there a second will, but also a second copy of the second will and a confidential message that goes along with it.

There is a murder investigation, a prison sentence, a prison escape, a love affair between the Lobby Boy and a pastry maker, a cat thrown out of a window, some fingers cut off in a door, and a wild chase through the snow.

Now, I subscribe to the philosophy of Vincent Canby, respected film critic for THE NEW YORK TIMES, which was “One man saw a movie, and I am that man.”

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL was that movie, and I hated it!

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”