Amazon.com essential video
The West Coast answer to Neil Simon's Plaza Suite, this film (written by Simon and directed by Herbert Ross) has a high Hollywood gloss. Instead of the omnibus form of the film of the New York version, this film (set at the Beverly Hills Hotel) intertwines the stories (à la Grand Hotel) of several different sets of guests, including Alan Alda and Jane Fonda and Walter Matthau and Elaine May, on one particularly eventful weekend. The story that works best involves Maggie Smith and Michael Caine as an Oscar-nominated actress and her straying, gay husband who come to an understanding (Smith won the Oscar for this film). The least effective is a slapsticky battle between well-to-do but competitive doctors played by Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. --Marshall Fine

Plaza Suite DVD ~ Arthur Hiller  (6)  CDN$ 8.58

The African Queen DVD ~ John Huston  (1)  CDN$ 14.58

What's Up, Doc? DVD ~ Peter Bogdanovich  (93)

The Apartment (Widescreen) DVD ~ Billy Wilder  (71)

Coal Miner's Daughter DVD ~ Michael Apted  (51)  CDN$ 15.99

› Explore similar items : DVD (35)

5 Reviews 5 star:  (4) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (5 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews   1 of 1 people found the following review helpful: Tip-Top tragi-comedy par excellence, Aug 9 2002 By  Mr. M. A. Towey (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews    This review is from: California Suite (Widescreen/Full Screen) (DVD) Jane fonder and Alan Alder are hysterical, claws are drawn at dawn as she muses to her one-time hubby about how very 'California' he is, all boyish charms and effervescence, as she...ever the sharp New Yorker...pops another ciggy in her cake-hole and manages the impossible, a verbal tirade while inhaling. (Reminded me of the blood letting dialogue delivered so deftly by Kate Hepburn in 'The Lion in Winter'). Walter Matthau is side splitting as he seeks to cheat on the good wife (Elaine May..she is so sweet most men would cheat with her not on her), of course for Walt it all goes Royally wrong. . Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor play rich-man poor-man doctors et spouse on the vacation from hell in LA...and take competitiveness to interstellar levels. What totally ices this summer pudding though is Maggie smiths' awesome performance as an Englishwoman coping....just...with not getting the Oscar for which she's been nominated...for not having a clue how to dress in superficial, bitchy, hot LA...for not noticing her husband eyeing up every man under 30 (Michael Cain at sympathetic best), and not lobbing herself out the emergency escape hatch on the flight home..."Oh my God!...tell them I want to get off...darling tell them I want to get off..they're only playing my f-ing film". She did get that Oscar though. What a performance Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)