Movies based on anything (a play, a novel, a television series, a comic book
a video game, a short story) are volatile. Sometimes they are amazing pieces
of work, while other times they simply bite. Because of the fact that in any
entertainment medium quality is hard to come by, most of the movies based on
a prior piece of work are lacking.
(one has but to look at the last two Batman movies [ie: Batman Forever and
Batman & Robin] to see what I'm getting at)
This movie, thankfully, is not a waste of time. Based on the play Hospitality
Suite 1601, the movie stars Kevin Spacey (who also produced) and Danny DeVito,
plus some unknown actor as three sales reps for a company that sells industrial
lubricants: Larry, Phil, and Bob (respectively). Larry and Phil are the vets,
the experienced pros who have been at this job for years upon years. Bob is
the wet-nosed young'un who is on the road for the first time and is attending
his very first convention. He's a bit nervous and he's also very religious.
He's married and has never ever lusted after another woman, not even in his mind.
He doesn't smoke and he barely drinks. A young kid who seems too perfect and
too perky for his own good.
Phil, however, is not so impeccably perfect. He is a man who has a divorce
pending. He is unhappy with his life in general, and he is a sad man. He is
also a very calm and reasonable person. Acts well under pressure.
And then you have Larry. Larry is the least perfect of all three. He has a
penchant for extremely biting sarcasm. He is quick to action and to anger.
He is an honest man and a blunt man. He knows what he wants and he is quite
desperate to get it.
Add to this The Big Kahuna in question, the president of a very big company
whose account is very important to the jobs of our three protagonists.
This movie is, essentially, a three man play which is almost entirely confined
to one room, the hospitality suite for which the play this movie is based on is
named after (try making sense of that sentence!).
With so few characters and such a simple plot (must get account of important
company president or we're screwed), character interaction is a must. Smart and
stimulating dialogue, intriguing ideas, and great acting. These three aspects
are most important in the making of a great movie with such a simple premise.
Thankfully, this movie has all three.
Let's begin with the actors. In this movie we have Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito
plus some other actor who is relatively unknown. I'll admit, I'm quite biased
in this case. I love Danny DeVito, and you simply cannot go wrong with Kevin
Spacey (the man rocks my world). Truth be known, if the unknown in this movie has
any prior experience in at the least stage I would not be at all surprised. The
cast did a bang-up job.
The dialogue is something to talk about as well, not to mention the ideas. Perhaps
the word "idea" is the wrong word, but the dialogue (and the monologue DeVito delivers
right near the end of the movie) really makes you think, when it's not making you
laugh outloud or just pity the characters.
Really, there isn't much to say about this movie. The characters begin as archetypes,
people you're certain you've seen before. The thing is, each one (with the exception
of Spacey's Larry) has something more behind those eyes than they originally let on.
Only Larry seems entirely readable in the beginning, but even that isn't so. More of
their personalities is revealed as the movie goes on, as they interact and clash horns.
It's really quite intriguing to watch.
All in all it's somewhat of a spiritual movie about business and personality and
character. You can't go wrong with this, especially if you love either DeVito or
Spacey. Great movie, great writing, great acting... go see it.