Today’s quick review: Hotel Splendide. For years, Mrs. Blanche held the Hotel Splendide in her grasp, forcing the guests to undergo a strict regimen of bland food cooked by her son Ronald (Daniel Craig). But when the matriarch dies, Kath (Toni Collette), a chef who was once involved with Ronald, returns to the hotel to liven up its cooking, much to the chagrin of the manager Dezmond (Stephen Tompkinson), the more loyal of Mrs. Blanche’s sons.
Hotel Splendide is a black comedy with mystery elements. Hotel Splendide is set in the remote, decrepit hotel of the same name, an aging institution kept stagnant first by Mrs. Blanche and then by her obsessively devoted son Dezmond. The return of Kath, a friendly chef who believes in the value of a good meal, disrupts the carefully arranged status quo, sparking a clash between Kath and Dezmond for the fate of the hotel.
Hotel Splendide takes place in a world of its own. The hotel is a mess of old paint and leaky pipes that’s barely held together by the work of its staff. Against this ominous backdrop, the peculiar guests go about various treatments for their health. The setting and characters are distinct, and they give Hotel Splendide plenty to keep the audience occupied while Kath tries to win Ronald back to her side.
The drawback is that Hotel Splendide has a very particular flavor to it. The darker elements of the story are just strong enough to keep the movie from being a pure comedy, putting a damper on what is fundamentally an optimistic story. The jokes are understated, and they rely more on presenting the viewer with something strange than setting up a punchline. Finally, the plot is indirect, taking a while to settle on its ultimate direction.
Hotel Splendide is an interesting watch, but it won’t be for everyone. Those with a taste for movies that are offbeat and slightly macabre will find it to be a charming film that does a good job of carving its own path. Those looking for a sharper comedy or one with a lighter tone may find that it’s a miss.
For a sharper and more stylized comedy set in an all-inclusive hotel, check out The Grand Budapest Hotel. For a lighter and more romantic movie about a woman whose food brings joy to a town, try Chocolat. For a black comedy with a similar tone, try Clue, Knives Out, or The Ladykillers. For a wry comedy about a similarly dysfunctional comedy, try The Royal Tenenbaums.
[6.2 out of 10 on IMDB](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177845/). I give it a 6.5 for a curious plot.