Four Rooms (1995)

Four interlocking tales that take place in a fading hotel on New Year's Eve.

Directors:

Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell

Writers:

Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell

Stars:

Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Sammi Davis

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sammi Davis	...	Jezebel (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Amanda De Cadenet	...	Diana (segment "The Missing Ingredient") (as Amanda deCadenet)
Valeria Golino	...	Athena (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Madonna	...	Elspeth (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Ione Skye	...	Eva (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Lili Taylor	...	Raven (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Alicia Witt	...	Kiva (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
Jennifer Beals	...	Angela (segments "The Wrong Man", "The Man from Hollywood")
David Proval	...	Sigfried (segment "The Wrong Man")
Antonio Banderas	...	Man (segment "The Misbehavers")
Lana McKissack	...	Sarah (segment "The Misbehavers")
Patricia Vonne	...	Corpse (segment "The Misbehavers") (as Patricia Vonne Rodriguez)
Tamlyn Tomita	...	Wife (segment "The Misbehavers")
Danny Verduzco	...	Juancho (segment "The Misbehavers")
Salma Hayek	...	TV Dancing Girl (segment "The Misbehavers")

Storyline

This movie features the collaborative directorial efforts of four new filmmakers, each of whom directs a segment of this comedy. It's New Year's Eve at the Mon Signor Hotel, a former grand old Hollywood hotel, now fallen upon hard times. Often using physical comedy and sight gags, this movie chronicles the slapstick misadventures of Ted, the Bellhop. He's on his first night on the job, when he's asked to help out a coven of witches in the Honeymoon Suite. Things only get worse when he delivers ice to the wrong room and ends up in a domestic argument at a really bad time. Next, he foolishly agrees to watch a gangster's kids for him while he's away. Finally, he finishes off the night refereeing a ghastly wager.

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Plot Keywords:

woman | gagged woman | tied to a chair | weapon | revolver | 

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Taglines:

A new comedy compliments of the house.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, sexuality and some drug use

Did You Know?

Trivia

The role of Ted was originally written with Steve Buscemi in mind.

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Goofs

The hotel's vintage telephone switchboard adds an element of comic chaos, but it is not consistently used. Ted answers calls to the front desk by pushing cables into jacks, but Sarah (the little girl in "The Misbehavers") is able to dial another room directly. Also, when the partying guys call and don't know what room they are in, Ted should be able to get the room number right off the switchboard.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sam the Bellhop: We used to have 50 on staff here. 50! I'm the only one left. It all comes down to one schmuck: me. The night-shift bellhop. What the hell is that, a bellhop? Huh, what is that? You know where the name comes from? Huh? From someone stupid! Some schmuck rings and bell and ya hop, you hop front and center.

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Crazy Credits

During the credits, one member of the A Band Apart production logo rips off his black suit and turns into a bellboy. This is Tim Roth's Reservoir Dogs character, Mr. Orange, who becomes Ted the Bellhop.

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Connections

Referenced in Community: Intro to Recycled Cinema (2015)

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Soundtracks

Spy Vs. Spy
Written by Michael Cudahy
Performed by Combustible Edison
Courtesy of Sub Pop Records

User Reviews

Four rooms full of nut jobs, one unforgettable night

Even from the start, we have the Tarantino vibe here, although he's only partly responsible for the film. Different room, different writer/director. Tim Roth is to carry this film, and he really does get on your nerves, and even though he acts absurdly, over the top, off the wall, in a totally unrealistic (well, he's not the only one) character, it's what the role calls for, and in that context, he succeeds brilliantly. Watching him lose it, was the strongest moments. It's New Years Eve, and being the new bell boy, like the Gekko Brothers at The Titty Twister, Ted (don't call him Theodore) (Roth) he's got one hell of a night ahead of him. Lets start with the covern (not oven) of witches, where we get to see Ione's Skye's slightly pathetic boobs. A ceremony of bologne is in in the waiting. This is the weakest one of the four stories. Things get weirder and much more intense, as we move onto the lover's quarrel, where poor Ted as just having pashed Ione Skye, hits more serious waters, unwittingly getting in the middle, of this mad couple problems of infidelity, where the husband holds Teddy at gunpoint. Finally surviving these two nutjobs, where we do have a second serve from one of them (the less threatening) later on, we move onto The Misbehavers which provide a bizarre and stylishly different scenario, I liked, where finally we come to the main story we've all been waiting for, about a director, played by.... have a guess? and his entourage, who really set a good example of what stupid things people do, when they're drunk, minus a pinkie. Tarantino really steals the moments here, acting not like an actor, but a director acting like a director with a lot of CU shots, where his presence holds are complete attention. He's eloquent and his body language is fantastic. I just love watching him trying to act, but he's just being him, comparing movie's what not. He shows up the other writers with his input of dialogue, though of course, more suited behind a camera, despite his awesome confidence in front of it. Yes, that was the worst club sandwich I've ever seen too. Four Rooms is certainly different with same truly impressive performances, which I will note because they deserve credit, beside Roth who's wonderful of course. Refer by Surname: Skye, Proval, Beals especially, Wills especially, Banderas, Tomei. If a QT fan, don't pass it off. It's animation in the opening credits is a killer.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Four Rooms and a Hotel

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$427,733, 25 December 1995

Gross USA:

$4,257,354

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,257,354

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, A Band Apart

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 110 min (workprint)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1