Although I can see why many people could never get into his films, Wes Anderson has been a filmmaker whose films I have passionately followed for over a decade now. Ever since I saw Rushmore 12 years ago, I knew that Anderson was going to be a filmmaker I was going to have a permanent love for. He didn't prove me wrong once I then watched Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums. Then I saw a masterpiece of a comedy called The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, which to this day I say is the most underrated film I have ever seen. That was when I knew Anderson was a genius. His newest comedy, The Grand Budapest Hotel does not demolish his streak of greatness and in fact, adds a lot to it. This is the most Wes Anderson-y film that Anderson has ever done. However, it is also a quirky, infectious comedy with more laughs in its hour and 40 minute run time than the last five comedies I saw in theaters had combined.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes as M. Gustave, the owner of a hotel called The Grand Budapest who has made it a habit to sleep with older women who are guests at his hotel. In fact, a lot of the most honored guests are old ladies who come just to see Gustave. Gustave hires a new, enthusiastic lobby boy named Zero (newcomer Tony Revolori) who falls for Agatha (Saoirse Ronan) and runs away with Gustave when he is accused of murdering one of the guests. Meanwhile, the police and their chief (Edward Norton) as well as the dead woman's son (Adrien Brody) and his psychotic, overly violent friend (Willem Dafoe) are on a wild goose chase to catch Gustave. This is all being told to a struggling author (Jude Law) by an older Zero (F Murray Abraham) after the fall of The Grand Budapest.
This is an extremely energetic film with a wonderfully wacky look to it. There are so many colorful pieces and original set designs that it's hard not to marvel at the pure visual nature of the film. The production of the film is so great, in fact, that it looks as if it took years to pull of yet it works seamlessly into the film. The laughs come a mile a minute in many different and original forms. Arguably the greatest comedic element of the film is the way in which Fiennes plays Gustave as a snooty rich man who lives in a high class world and yet will hurl a raunchy insult toward someone at any second. Revolori gets added to the list of little to no experience actors who prove to be a natural presence on screen. Revolori is so natural, in fact, that it makes me question how this is only his second feature film role (he was also in 2009's disappointing sports drama The Perfect Game.) The rest of the cast does fantastically as well. Everyone from Ronan to Norton to Brody to Dafoe to Bill Murray to Jeff Goldblum to Harvey Kietel to Mathieu Amalric to so many others give it their complete and total all and make this film a true success.
Anderson proves once again why he is the king of quirky comedies. The Grand Budapest Hotel is hysterical and absolutely delightful, often in very subtle and clever ways and the film gives off an enormous energy that will prove hard for anyone to resist. If this were a lesser filmmaker and cast, this probably would have been a production that ended up failing miserably. As executed, however, this is the second genuinely great film of 2014 (I didn't forget The Lego Movie) and makes me think if there is going to be a better film this year...it's going to be a long while before that film arrives.
(5 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language, some sexual content and violence)
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