BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

Matho The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

bkoganbing The Hotel New Hampshire has to rank up there with maybe the top 10 of weird films I've seen. Not one for the kid's matinée.There's no real plot to this film. Beau Bridges who is a scholarly teacher at a New Hampshire High School has decided to fulfill his dream of owning a hotel and being an innkeeper. He and the family give up all to own and renovate a broken down hotel, first in New Hampshire and then in Vienna. Bridges was sucked into it by a Viennese character played by Wallace Shawn who is known as that most famous Viennese of all, Freud.Beau's family the Berrys certainly have their collection of fruits and nuts in it. Children like Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster, and Seth Green and a crotchety old grandpa played by Wilford Brimley. But interesting characters without a coherent plot is a chair with weak legs.In the best part of the film Jodie Foster gets some sweet revenge for being raped by Matthew Modine. Let's say he gets to understand the victim's point of view.Not the best of work for upcoming stars like Foster and Lowe.

MARIO GAUCI At first, writer-director Richardson seems an odd choice here – until one sees the jokey approach in action, redolent of his much earlier TOM JONES (1963); incidentally, despite being an American film, he brought along top exponents of the "British New Wave" such as cinematographer David Watkin and production/costume designer Jocelyn Herbert. Based on a celebrated satirical novel by John Irving (author of THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP [1982] – which I guess I should get to now), it garnered mixed reactions but I found it quite engaging apart from the occasional heavy-handedness; that said, having read the source material for myself, I have to say that the film falls short of extracting its full potential. There is no real plot to speak of, but a plethora of oddball characters – not just the central family (among them Beau Bridges, Jodie Foster and Rob Lowe…not to mention their compulsively farting dog[!]) but also Wallace Shawn as a cycle-riding Dr. Freud with a bear companion, Nastassja Kinski as the latter's 'replacement' after it is killed(!) and Amanda Plummer as a gawky teen dubbed "Miss Carriage". The film touches on some potentially controversial subjects such as incest (Lowe is obsessed with Foster), homosexuality (of both sexes) and rape (Foster falls foul of Lowe's football buddies, led by a young Matthew Modine – who actually plays two roles!). The acting is uniformly good, with Foster and Kinski (despite a limited role) coming off best. Reportedly, the rock band Queen was supposed to contribute to the soundtrack - with the song 'Keep Passing The Open Windows' (a much-repeated phrase in the film) eventually finding its way onto their album "The Works" from the same year.

vchimpanzee Okay, it wasn't all bad.-Good music, except the New Year's Eve celebration-The architecture of the first two hotels-Old cars -Jodie Foster's hair and smile -In fact, Jodie Foster was quite good and I could have liked her character-Jennifer Dundas was also good But if this was supposed to be a comedy, it was sick, sick, sick.Seth Green was the first name I saw in the closing credits, which reminds me that in certain circumstances I can handle sick humor. Animated characters who are so adorable you just want to hug them can get away with a lot. But not these people.Don't be fooled by the fact the parents were telling the story to their children in the first few scenes. This is NOT for kids.

Cleia Abenza First of, this is not a comedy. Where was the fun? because I somehow missed it. I believe you'll find the movie to be insensitive and sometimes even gross. Also, the acting is quite disappointing. The argument is completely ridiculous, and it gets worse as the movie develops.I can think of many ways to describe this movie; lame, boring, stupid, weak, grotesque, absurd, poor...Only if you're curious to see the young Jodie Foster or Rob Lowe I would recommend this fiasco. But even in that case, it would be better for you to just watch "Taxi Driver" or "Youngblood" for instance.This is not worth watching. It's a terrible waste of time and I do not recommend it.