Hotel Paradiso

I really struggled to enjoy this... Despite the great casting, it just seemed to border all to frequently on the wrong side of farce for me. Basically, it all boils down to poor old Alec Guinness ("Boniface") stuck in an unhappy marriage with the formidable "Angelique" (Peggy Mount). This couple are neighbours to "Marcelle' (Gina Lollobrigida) who is married to "Henri" (Robert Morley), a husband who largely leaves her to her own devices. When "Angelique" goes to see her poorly sister and "Henri" has to go away for work - "Boniface" proceeds to confess his long-held, undying, love to "Marcelle" and suggests they decamp to the eponymous establishment for an hour or two's entertainment... What ensues now is a semi chaotic collection of almost slap-stick encounters that are frenetically paced, with relentless dialogue and more parallel themes than I could really be bothered to keep up with. Lollobrigida looks every inch her part, and Guinness is quite engaging as the rather ingenuous "Boniface" but the rest of it is just too shambolic for me. Looks great though, lots of great costumes, sets and vintage cars.

Watch this movie to see Alec Guinness at his comedic best! The plot is somewhat contrived and does have its weak spots, but the stars really shine here. Guinness is at the top of his form here - his sly, sotto voce comments to the audience, his expressive face, and his manic capering show why he should be remembered for his comedy roles as well as his more serious roles. Robert Morley plays the role he's played a hundred times: a stuffed shirt of a character who bulldozes his way through the movie (but in a good way). Gina is lovely to look at, of course, and her excitable character is sympathetic enough. The last two-thirds of the movie are almost non-stop grins as the various characters encounter and "near-miss" each other in the Hotel Paradiso.

I never knew that Gina Lollobrigida and Alec Guinness had such knack for comedy. What a treat to see them in such a caper. This is a fast paced film with complex twists, interesting screenplay, endless surprises, good acting, and just great fun for the whole family. This is how comedies should be.

In order to fully appreciate Hotel Paradiso, you're going to have to know it was based off a French play. If you didn't know that going in, you'd probably turn the movie off before the "weekend in the country" began. Now that you know it's based off a French play, you'll be expecting a wacky comedy of errors.

Within a block of houses in a Parisian town in the 1900s, there are quite a few couples having trouble. Gina Lollobrigida is married to Robert Morley, and she's upset that he always leaves her to go to work. Alec Guinness hates his wife, Peggy Mount, and he overhears Gina declaring she'll throw herself at the first man she comes across, just to get back at her husband. Through a series of fast-talking coincidences and awkward planning, Gina and Alec make plans to spend the night at the same hotel that Robert has been hired to inspect. Peggy is also staying at the hotel, to indulge in her secret double-life, and Gina's nephew is enjoying a rendezvous with a lowly maid. A houseguest Alec turned away is also seeking shelter at the hotel, so you can bet it's going to be a very busy evening.

Hotel Paradiso is a like-it-or-lump-it kind of movie. If you like these types of wacky sex comedies, you'll be wiping tears of laughter from your eyes. If you don't, you might not make it all the way through. To each his own, and while it wasn't my favorite comedy of the month, I can understand how much funnier it would have been to watch it unfold in a theater.

While viewing an amply proportioned la Belle Epoc French "strip tease" artieste who performs over her audience's heads while on a trapeze, Mme. Cote notes that, according to the programme: "I says here 'she is the mother of three children and her husband is a professor at the Sorbonne.'"

Such delightfully histerical lines are just the beginning of the fun.

I first saw this during my college days when I was a projectionist at the local movie house in Rexburg, Idaho. I dispaired of ever seeing it again. When I finally found it on VHS I was in (not on) ecstasy.