I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
In this episode of Versus The Scarecrow, we take a look at films that have numbers in the title that just so happen to total the number of this episode. Clever? You bet it is! I’ll be looking at the surprisingly funny 10, the surprisingly depressing Five Easy Pieces, and I reflect on Four Rooms.
Four Rooms (1995) Directed by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino. Starring: Amanda De Cadenet, Jennifer Beals, David Proval. IMDB says: “Four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year’s Eve.”
“I’m in a situation I can’t begin to explain.”
Typically, I like anthology films. Little short stories tossed together and if you didn’t like one, it was alright, because a new one was on the way. I was first introduced to the concept of anthology films with The Twilight Zone. I thought it was different and wondered why more films didn’t go along with that concept. Four Rooms taught me why. Sometimes, just sometimes, the outcome is really bad. It’s not what you’re expecting at all. And it’s definitely a bad sign when you try watching it on three separate occasions and can’t get past the first story. But, at least I’ve gotten this film out of the way and I don’t have to revisit it again.
Maybe I’m being too hard on this film, but when Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino direct 2 of the 4 shorts, you have some expectations. And when those expectations aren’t met, you start to scrutinize every part of the film. One of the problems is Tim Roth’s character. He goes Looney Toon in this film and goes from a quirky slapstick bellhop to an overly aggressive caricature at the drop of a hat and the constant back and forth becomes old hat and then just flat out off putting. Other characters are too busy fumbling over the word ‘fuck’ to really progress a barely coherent story.
In the first story directed by Allison Anders, titled “The Missing Ingredient”, Ted the Bellhop (Roth) delivers several bags of luggage to the Hooneymoon suite. Witches have gathered together to bring a goddess to life. Problem? One of the witches forgot to bring her ingredient: semen. Chuckles are supposed to ensue as the witch seduces Ted into a bubbling cauldron so the ritual can be complete. More annoying than hilarious, it is interesting to note that Madonna has a role in this short though she does not get topless like the others.
In the second story directed by Alexandre Rockwell, titled “The Wrong Man”, Ted walks into a room where a man has a wife tied to a chair at gunpoint. He’s accusing Ted of sleeping with his wife. A huge back and forth ensues and this story becomes more and more confusing until it ends and has it’s little “A-Ha!” moment.
The third story, directed by Robert Rodriguez (who directed this segment only a week after finishing Desperado), titled “The Misbehavers”, stars Antonio Banderas as a generic bad-guy type gangster who’s leaving with his wife for the night and needs a babysitter. Who do they call? You betcha: Ted. A more slapstick variety of humor ensues in this story as Ted tries to get the children to sleep, but their curiosity gets them into truly unbelieveable situations. It’s also worth noting that here that Ted (Tim Roth) has reached his most animated point, coming across as a vulgar Looney Toon, and rather than meshing with the overall slapstick vibe, it’s uncomfortably over the top and off-putting.
The fourth and final story, directed by Quentin Tarantino. There is really nothing more to say. It’s not his best effort, but its still solid and filled with a bakers dozen of his cinematic winks and trademarks. In this story, titled “The Man From Hollywood” where Ted becomes the referee of a most unusual wager. What’s interested, and impressive, about this segment, starring an unaccredited Bruce Willis, is that despite it’s 21 minute length, the cast manages to say “fuck” or a version of that word 193 times. 193 TIMES!!
If any of those stories intrigue you, the film is available on Netflix Instant Watch and now you know where to fast forward to!
