Off the Wall Delightful

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2014)

It's so nice to have a movie that is knock-down drag-out hilarious. From the beginning foray, telling us about how the hotel came to be, all of its history, and the introduction of the cast of characters, the delightful episodic delivery, it reminded me to some extent of those spectacular comedies of the sixties and seventies: "The Great Race" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World." What transpires is Ralph Fiennes' feast for the camera and a story of great love, pain, and intensity. What works well is that there is a balance between a serious dramatic line running through a serious story that is inundated with sight gags and wonderful bits. The prison break will live with me forever, the little hammers and chisels smuggled into the prison inside boxes of strawberry torts. The quirky people from Jeff Goldblum to Willem Dafoe to the irrepressible Adrian Brody. So much has already been written about this but I wanted to get my two cents worth. One reviewer talked about it not making any money. If that's the case it means that a whole bunch of viewers have passed up a gem.