“What? You mean to tell me you’ve never heard of Four Rooms? But there’s a segment of it directed by Quentin Tarantino and another by Robert Rodriguez. And the cast includes such QT/RR regulars as Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis, and Salma Hayek as well as Marissa Tomei, Madonna, and Kathy Griffin. Really, not ringing any bells? Oh, I think I know why. It’s not that good.
The concept is kinda cool. It follows the bellhop at a hotel, played by Tim Roth, and the antics he unwittingly gets thrust into. There’s four different goings on in four different hotel rooms, each written and directed by someone else. Allison Anders has “”The Missing Ingredient””, Alexandre Rockwell “”The Wrong Man””, Robert Rodriguez “”The Misbehavers””, and Quentin Tarantino “”The Man From hollywood””. A couple of the stories happen simultaneously, and a few characters bounce around between rooms. But something keeps it from living up to the concept.
I think part of the problem is that I really dont like the first two segments, and I have trouble getting into the later ones which are the ones I’m most interested in. Rodriguez’ segment, The Misbehavers, is a lot of fun. Two kids are left alone in the hotel room and chaos ensues. Rodriguez is great with kid’s stuff, as we’ll see later on in this project. Okay, this is not exactly for kids (they just found a dead body in the bed), but it does have that fun feel to it. And the performance he gets out of the youngsters is great. You just know they’re having a ball out there. Oh and for those of you keeping score at home, keep an eye on the tv. Early on, you see them watching Bedhead, Rodriguez’s short. The general consensus is that this is the best “”room”” in the film and I’m inclined to agree.
Tarantino wraps things up with “”The Man From Hollywood””. Besides writing and directing, he also stars as the occupant of the hotel penthouse. It kinda plays out as drunk as the characters are. Sadly, by this point, you feel just like bellhop Ted. You’re just waiting to walk out that door, and all that’s standing between you and it is this last room. So let’s just go back to pretending this film didnt exist, and leave it in obscurity.”