Cheap Hotel New Hampshire (Video) (Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster) (Tony Richardson) Price

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Customer Reviews of Hotel New Hampshire

Bizarrely entertaining
This movie is quite odd, but never boring. I didn't read the John Irving book from which it was adapted, but I can guess that, as is typical of the author, the book must juggle a multitude of characters and sub-plots. Unfortunately, it really doesn't work as a movie and ends up feeling like a series of loosely connected vignettes. The plot speeds along much too quickly and characters appear and disappear without much reason. The movie does, however, have a few positive points...

First, the cast is first-rate and Rob Lowe has one of his most unusual roles (this was his third movie after "The Outsiders" and "Class"), as a confused young man lusting after his sister (Jodie Foster, who's ok). Paul McCrane (ER's Dr. Romano) has one of his few relatively large film roles. The movie looks great, with beautiful location shooting with Canada substituting for New Hampshire and Vienna. Finally, this is probably the only place you can see Matthew Modine being raped by a person in a bear suit. Overall, a very strange journey that makes little sense and doesn't bear up to much scrutiny. A definite disappointment.

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Crowded Hotel
Based on author John Irving's story about the ecletic Berry family, The Hotel New Hampshire, may boast a star studded ensemble and have a steady hand behind the camera, yet, the film isn't as good as the sum of its parts at times.

Patriarch Win Berry (Beau Bridges) has an obsession with hotels, which leads to the purchase of a delapidated New England monastary, to be transformed into a hotel. This leads to the coming together of the entire Berry clan. The family's eldest son John (Rob Lowe), foul mouthed Franny (Jodie Foster), Frank the dwarf (Paul McCrane) Egg-the youngest son (Seth Green), Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) Win's Dad are just some of those who put their two cents in. Soon the brood is invited by a family friend (Wallace Shawn) to take over another hotel in Vienna. Upon arrival, the get more then they bargained for.

I never read the book so I can only guess as to how it compares to the film. The movie, though watchable thanks to its cast, can at times seem like a jigsaw puzzle--with some pieces missing. The story as told through the eyes of Lowe's character, has great and "darkly" funny moments, with some satire thrown in. But the film can also be quite disjointed at times--perhaps so that the writer/director Tony Richarson could adapt the story for the film. The cast does their best and gives solid peformances, despite some of the scripts faults. There's enough subplots in The Hotel New Hampshire to fill two movies.

The DVD doesn't have any extras on it. That is to say, save of course, for the theatrical trailer. I thought the film was good--but had Richardson reworked the script a bit--it could have been much better.

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Black-humored, subtle, inteligent, explicit - fun.
"The Hotel New Hampshire" is, indeed, not "very easy". If you're into "American Pie" or something, it's likely not to work for you. It's fast, subtile, black humor, surrealistic sometimes, and there's no "audience laugher" to know when you're supposed to laugh - and that's probably why people don't like (or understand) it. It can take more than one watch to get it all, and it sure deserves it.

The book's no requirement at all, like some of the obtuse reviewers above are arguing. In fact, i only know of Irving's existence from hearabouts - and still HNH was a masterpiece that made me laugh to tears. The flatulent dog named Sorrow. The (quick) way people die. Incest, clowns, rape, and Kinski wearing a bear suit. Do you want more to life than this? and there is.

Like one of the reviews i've read before, in this film the joke isn't assigned, all weird is put as just normal and if you don't have the hability to laugh at the bizarre on normal things you'll maybe find this movie a bored, puzzling experience.

It's ironical, thought, to think that maybe it was made to be this little hermetic and still so little people can get it. This world is ruined.