The Movie
Movies weren't a big thing for my family growing up. I, personally, loved to go to the local second-run theater and rent movies at Video Plus, my favorite VHS joint, but it wasn't a big family thing. However, I distinctly remember my mother telling me about a movie her and my father went to see, one they absolutely hated: The Hotel New Hampshire. Their distaste for this film was complete and unswayable. For some reason, I never sought it out, and it's never crossed my path...until now. And upon the scroll of the credits, I could finally say, I understand their hatred. Not that it's a terrible film. It's just not a film they would have enjoyed watching in 1984 (or any time to be honest.) It's a film for a very distinct audience, of which my parents were not members.

Just who that audience is, is hard to say. Academy Award-winning director Tony Richardson (Tom Jones) packed the film with just about all that legendary author John Irving stuffed into the novel the movie is based on, which means it's got everything from murder and incest to rape and suicide. And despite such light-hearted subject matter, it's often presented as a broad comedy, at times even utilizing sped-up motion like you'd see on The Benny Hill Show. That's not to say that humor wasn't an element of the story of the Berrys, a New England family who, following the ill-fated dreams of patriarch Win Berry (Beau Bridges), become the residents of a hotel in New Hampshire, and after a series of incidents, both tragic and comic, come to move to Vienna to do the same thing, on an entirely different level.

All the bases are covered when it comes to the Berrys, whether it's open-for-anything daughter Franny (Jodie Foster), gay son Frank (Paul McCrane) or brooding child Lilly (Jennifer Dundas), who is wise beyond her years, but unable to grow in physical stature. The result of all these disparate characters sharing a family is a story that goes 80 directions at once, bringing in revolutionaries, a woman in a bear suit and family bonds that are a tad too close, straining a sense of reality, while capturing a quirky whimsy that became Wes Anderson's bread and butter. Rob Lowe's brother character John is something like the film's hero, wound into all the various storylines in one way or another, and could certainly be an option for an audience looking for someone to cheer for, but a lack of internal motivation leaves him floating through the movie at most points (including during a dramatic moment that the film drops like a hot rock when it finds something more outlandish to observe.)

Though he did do right by several elements of the book, being faithful to a fault, Richardson made some questionable decisions at the helm of this Irving adaptation, with the more cartoonish moments, including a jock-strap snap and the entire culmination of the Franny and John subplot, creating a tonal disconnect with the rest of the film. While the movie certainly didn't need to be maudlin (and couldn't with characters like Susie the Bear around), it didn't need to attempt to put a red nose on the drama, the effect of which makes scenes that should have had tremendous impact into poorly-landed punchlines, including a horrific moment for Franny that comes off like it could have been in an ‘80s sex comedy. There's enough insanity in the story as it is (particularly in the home stretch) that nothing needed to be ramped up artificially. Perhaps Anderson could give this story another shot and see what he could do with it.

The Quality
The 1080p, AVC-encoded 1.85:1 transfer here is a bit of a disappointment, looking like a leftover from a previous generation (or 30 years ago), with fine-detail falling on the weaker side of the scale and color that's muted, to the point where the whole image looks like it's being viewed through a translucent film, just slightly dimming the entire affair. Some color looks decent (bolder hues like those on the outside of the freshly-painted hotels) but nothing is going to be an eye-opener. Though the grain is readily present and even, there are no notable issues with digital distractions and black levels are solid, the film could use a clean-up to get rid of the dirt and damage that can be spotted by the discerning eye.

There are no real concerns in regard to the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track here, which handles the film's aural elements well, keeping dialogue clear, sound effects strong and the score properly separated from the rest of the mix. The film doesn't offer a lot to test your system, with a few moments of action, leaving the presentation mainly center-balanced, with no obvious complaints to be had.

The Extras
The only extra included is a trio of Jodie Foster trailers, with previews for The Hotel New Hampshire, Foxes and The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.