The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015. Remaining movies: 262 Days to go: 258
Movie #115: Four Rooms
In a nutshell, Four Rooms is a fantastic experiment. It consists of four separate vignettes, each written and directed by four different filmmakers, connected simply by the thread that they all take place on New Year’s Eve in the Mon Signor Hotel, Hollywood, where Ted the Bellhop (Tim Roth) is the only one on duty.
Normally, oddly experimental or gimmicky films like this don’t see wide release and, in turn, aren’t seen by wide audiences. But Four Rooms boasts segments by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez (in addition to less well-known Allison Anders and Alexandre Rockwell), plus appearances by Madonna, Lili Taylor, Ione Skye, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis, Jennifer Beals, Kathy Griffin and Marisa Tomei, among others. So there’s a bit of a draw to this film.
Each of the four segments are quirky and fun, with Ted being more than a little inconvenienced by each unconventional request, though he also finds himself pretty nicely rewarded in most of them. It’s very interesting to notice the different writing and directing styles evidenced in each separate vignette, how scenes with the same large-scale setting and main character can be still be individualistic, with their own strengths and weaknesses. For my money, the third segment (“The Misbehavers”) is the strongest, the last (“The Man From Hollywood”) is the most astonishing and the most talked-about, the first (“The Missing Ingredient”) is most fun, and the second (“The Wrong Man”) is the darkest and most disturbing.
“The Misbehavers” features a man (Antonio Banderas) and his wife (Tamlyn Tomita) leaving their willfull and spoiled children alone in room 309, with Ted checking in on them. There is drinking, smoking, Salma Hayek on a nudie channel, spontaneous vomit, and a foul-smelling surprise. It’s excellently paced and it builds a lot of tension and suspense.
“The Man From Hollywood” features an unusual bet between friends (Quentin Tarantino and Paul Calderon) that requires a delivery of a block of wood, three nails, a ball of twine, a donut, a club sandwich, and a hatchet. There’s also Tarantino going crazy over the superiority of Cristal and a ranting (and uncredited) Bruce Willis.
“The Missing Ingredient” features a coven of witches that include Madonna, Valeria Golina, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Sammi Davis and Alicia Witt. (I am still incredibly upset Alicia Witt’s career never exploded. She was the best, most perfect thing about Cybill.) They have a little magic to undertake, and are in need of Ted’s … services.
“The Wrong Man” is a psychological torture game between combating spouses (David Proval and Jennifer Beals) and any unlucky man who happens to walk through their door. They don’t have any needles, but they do have a big fucking gun.
There are callbacks and running jokes and a pretty hilarious performance by Marisa Tomei as a completely baked party-goer named Margaret, not to mention Tim Roth being swishy and twitchy and completely mercenary with regard to the tasks he is given, which is super fun to watch. Plus the witches cast their spells in rhyme, and Ted is apparently pretty killer in the sack.
It’s not family-friendly in the least, but it’s a great time and I wish filmmakers today were able to stretch themselves in these kinds of unique and interesting ways, because it broadens the possibilities of the art form and allows for more voices in this realm. It’s a valuable film to own and to study and to enjoy. I hope to see more like it one day.
Viable Option 