One of the best films i have seen

Not even bad in a good way

Don't Believe the Hype

There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

That's the one thing I remembered about this Neil Simon comedy, Maggie Smith saying "That's not funny, that's bizarre" I had never heard the word "bizarre" like that. Bee-zaaaarr, or something like that but Maggie Smith uses it brilliantly as an irresistible comic tool. I remember being kind of put off because Maggie won an Oscar for this over Meryl Streep for The Deer Hunter but, watching it now. I understand. Maggie Smith is fantastic and her marital banter with Michael Caine is a total delight. The movie, as a movie is a whole other story. Flimsy and dated with a musical score that may remind you of some of most generic TV movie. Jane Fonda is great, Elaine May and Walter Matthau, hilarious but it also has Bill Cosby, hard to watch now and a hilarious Richard Pryor. Herbert Ross directs respectfully but without any cinematic ambitions. Maggie Smith and Michael Caine however make the whole thing worth it.

In the film adaptation of Neil Simon's play California Suite, four couples stay in a Beverly Hills hotel. It's divided up into four sections, showing where each out-of-towner comes from. Parts of it are very funny, and parts are so true to life they'll inspire tears. While everyone has their favorite Neil Simon play, this one is very good and just might snag a special place in your heart.Now for the plots: In the first segment, divorced couple Jane Fonda and Alan Alda argue over custody of their teenaged daughter. Next up is the most memorable part: Maggie Smith is up for an Academy Award, and her husband Michael Caine isn't able to give her the support she needs. While Maggie lost the Oscar in the film, in real life, she won Best Supporting Actress in 1979. She and Michael have wonderful, realistic chemistry together, and her performance is very touching. In another room, Walter Matthau has to hide a sleeping prostitute from his wife, Elaine May. And finally, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Gloria Gifford, and Sheila Frazier are taking a couples vacation together and wind up playing tennis.

Don't get confused! Maggie Smith, an actress Oscar-nominated for a stupid little comedy, and husband Michael Caine travel from England to California for the Oscar ceremony. Walter Matthau (married to Elaine May) arrives in California for a wedding and gets in a compromising situation with another woman.Alan Alda and Jane Fonda are exes and discuss sharing custody of 17-year-old daughter and how Jane is afraid of losing her once she leaves home.Richard Pryor and wife and Bill Cosby and wife go to California for a relaxing vacation.All this in one movie. You think it sounds interesting, or you think it's a riot. To say this is a complete success in entertainment would be stretching a bit...almost a lot. Right off the bat, Alda and Fonda start in going back and forth on the past and Fonda is so antagonistic, it's almost unbearable to even get through their skit. It lasts over 10 minutes. Walter Matthau's skit gets a little old as he tries to hide the body of a passed out hooker from his wife, who's he's expecting any minute. (He overslept, of course.) But, Elaine May is good in a memorable role.Cosby and Pryor's story actually starts with interest but tires with their constant griping and by the end of the movie, all of their fun ideas have turned into broken bones, bruises and casts. You get the feeling that black viewers would be offended by the way these characters are portrayed.The only saving grace is Caine and Smith, who ironically was so good in this otherwise blah movie, she not only received an Oscar nomination, but she won. But, she is great in everything; so is Caine. They should have scrapped the rest of the footage and made a short film of just these great actors. Those who watch this for them, especially Maggie, will enjoy their performances. But, will otherwise be bored stiff.Those who watch this for Matthau will be minimally pleased. Those who watch this for Cosby and Pryor will be insulted or just plain disappointed of the waste of their talents or BOTH. Those who watch this Fonda or Alda will be talked to death.Nevertheless, I have to give Caine and Smith two thumbs up or two stars each. Therefore, it gets a 4 out of 10 from me.But, if you're in a town where there's a California Suite, run don't walk to an Economy Lodge.

I'm biased - I'm a Neil Simon fan who loves the concept of the "Suite" plays (on stage, each act is a one-act play using the same set, with the actors playing different roles each act). Obviously, because the stories are intertwined in the film, they couldn't do that (they didn't do in "London Suite" either).But, here's my complaint: the intertwining is sloppy. We'll sometimes spend twenty or so minutes with a plot, then get a quick cutaway with another (Walter Matthau's plot doesn't really kick in until an hour's passed; Alan Alda disappears after forty-five minutes).Despite this balancing flaw, there are goodies to be found: Visitors From New York: Alda and Jane Fonda have great chemistry (and, of course, she looks great!): one can really believe they were a couple. That being said, he's pretty weak, letting her get in a lot of bitchy lines, and barely sticking up for himself. Three stars.Visitors From London: A lot of people think this is the best segment, and I'm one of them. Once again, Maggie Smith and Michael Caine give excellent performances (but there's a touch of "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" throughout the whole scenario) - she deserved her Oscar (and I love that they filmed at an actual Oscars ceremony). Four stars.Visitors From Philadelphia: First of all, Elaine May was reminding me so much of Louise Lasser. That being said, I could totally buy her and Matthau together, and I love how calm she was upon her discovery (she gets a great line regarding what she's gonna do). Three and a half stars.Visitors From Chicago: Unfairly criticized. Sure, it's slapstick in the extreme (it gives us an idea how "The Out of Towners" may have looked if confined to "Plaza Suite," which it was intended for), but there's something quite cool about two very different masters of stand up, Richard Pryor and Bill Cosby, going up against one another ("clean" vs. "dirty"?). And, you just know that a few weeks later, the characters got together and had a good laugh about it. Three and a quarter stars.Throw in a nice credit sequence, with David Hockney paintings, and you have a fine way to spend two hours.