'I go to bed with all my friends.'

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2014)

Who would have guessed the ideas for this preposterously hilarious film came form the seeds within Stefan Zweig's mind? Well, Wes Anderson is the man about wild ideas and he surpasses his own impressive credits (Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Royal Tenebaums, Rushmore, etc) with this zany and delightful romp.
GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL recounts the adventures of Gustave H (Ralf Fiennes, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka between the wars, and Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the backdrop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent. The big-time cast includes Mathieu Amalric, F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Soarise Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Bob Balaban and others.
Granted, you must be in a good state of mind to get all the innuendos and in-jokes that fly through this film, but go along for the ride. It is gorgeous to look at, has glorious musical score by Alexandre Desplat, and makes of an evening of escapist fun. Grady Harp, December 14