Hotel Room (1993)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The first part of Hotel Room is complete perfection. The first time I viewed this piece I knew I had just witnessed something amazing, but like many other of Lynch's pieces it would require a second viewing. It has been two years and I have watched the first part over 50 times. I have showed this film to about 40 people. Thirty of them get it, ten are baffled. We recite quotes and facial expressions from Moe and Lou on a daily basis. Some of my favorites are "The Sh*t Moe, The Sh*t" "I know about crucial, Moe", and "It's not every hooker from New York that can do a cheer like that let me tell you." This is the most comical Lynch piece I have ever seen, Let me tell you. The humor is varied but does have a underlying consistent form which is crucial. All in all this movie is the Sh*t Moe the Sh*t!

Three half-hour episodes were produced, two from David Lynch as director and Barry Gifford as writer, one from some random guy, James Signorelli, I never heard of (though, according to IMDb, directed an Elvira movie, and surprisingly helmed Easy Money), each set in a hotel room in a particular year in time: The first segment, Tricks, set in 1969, is a story of a man (Harry Dean Stanton) right about to get some from a stoned prostitute, who gets visited at that moment by an old white-bearded friend with some dark past history. The acting is good all around, particularly from Stanton during a monologue about his first sexual encounter. But it also doesn't really lead much anywhere, even through touches of Lynch's usual twists (the appearance of the 'friend', the final twist that does cleverly wrap around old relationship ties). It also tries to be funny, and it isn't, which makes it a little awkward when the subtle wit doesn't work. (7/10) The second segment, Getting Rid of Robby, set in 1992, is like some slightly sleazier, less witty episode of Sex and the City (if you can imagine that), with very lame would-be-clever dialog, and the only redeeming aspect being Griffin Dunne playing a man who's breaking up with a woman who usually 'takes care' of him when he comes by during business trips. Not sure why it was here, even if Badalamenti puts in a groovy jazz song over material that isn't worth it; it's not necessarily a horrible short, but it has no real entertainment value except for people who can't distinguish fake-feminist-trash from quality product, and it is a significant drop in comparison to the other two shorts. (5/10) Blackout, 1937- Probably the closest that Lynch has come to doing full-on Bergman, via Gifford's script, by ding very simply shot but emotionally complex character studying. Crispin Glover plays a small-town guy who stays in the same hotel room from the other two shorts with his love, played by Alicia Witt, who's sort of slow and affected mind-wise, but has a lot to say about Chinese fish and seeing things like their future children. Witt has a look like the classic Bergman actresses, and the dialog even goes further than Bergman, maybe back to Ibsen, in capturing the tense but always powerfully human tradition of characters who are disconnected from one another, but wanting to be close as possible, through revelations in behavior and stark details. Glover, in a rare instance, plays a guy who is the straight character (straight as possible anyway). In the Barry Lyndon-esquire candle-lit lighting, Lynch makes this all so spare that it seems like the farthest thing removed from an quagmire like Inland Empire. But in its own way, Lynch is experimenting just as much in getting inside the nature of a character's psychology, and it's refreshing to see him let the actors find their own beats in the performances. (9/10)

Hotel room is not really a straight David lynch movie, it has three parts, set in different time periods, the first and last are directed by lynch. The first staring Harry Dean Stanton, this part is worth watching for the acting alone, but will be enjoyed by anyone who respects lynch's stylistic film making.The second part is interesting and has a little creative flair, but is greatly over shadowed by the pieces lynch directs. It's good enough to not fast forword to the third part.The last part which revolves around a couple stranded in a blackout, is based almost fully on dialogue. David lynch's genius comes out here, little light, and enough weird conversation to keep your mind working during the whole piece.It's very easy to over look a little gem like this, do yourself a favor and check it out.

The first episode of the trilogy is classic David Lynch fare with a stand-out Harry Dean Stanton performance, the second is a god-awful mess of a piece directed by the acclaimed director of the Elvira movie. Fast-forward this mistake (commissioned by HBO so that they would have a "feature-length anthology") The final part is one of the finest pieces of acting and directing that I've ever seen. I'm a Lynch fan, but nothing could prepare me for a story where Crispin Glover is the sane, voice of reason. Alicia Witt is a marvelous actress who shines in this terrifying role. Kudos to Crispin's restraint. A great hour