"THE GRAND HOTEL BUDAPEST" WHERE SIMPLY EVERYONE FINDS A LITTLE BIT OF HOME

I saw the trailer for The Grand Hotel Budapest a while ago. The moment I saw the trailer I wanted to see the film then and there. Right away. You know the feeling. The anticipation has been toe-curling but at the same time, as I always say, slightly daunting because the higher your expectations are the further they have to fall. But the Grand Hotel Budapest came up and beyond my expectations. Not only has Wes Anderson come up with another masterpiece, he has done something rather extraordinary in the person of Monsieur Gustave (Ralph Fiennes), the hero of the film. Allow me to endeavor to explain.

See I work as staff. You may even have seen me – I may have served you drinks, lunch or dinner. So I know first-hand what it means for staff to be “invisible”. A well-staffed establishment runs smoothly and it looks as if things are magically falling into place. In actual fact it’s a bit of a “swan” number going on – mad paddling underneath to keep up the appearance of calmness above. In a hotel, the beating heart of this phenomenon, the keystone connecting and directing the staff and liaising with the guests at the same time is the concierge. And the Grand Hotel Budapest – once one of the most celebrated hotels on the continent – was once the area of operations for M. Gustave, one of the best concierges known to the hotel industry. Now, how magnificently well things are running is worthy of lengthy praise – but it doesn’t really make for a brilliant story. What does make a good story is what is going on behind the scenes, and this is precisely where Wes Anderson is taking us. Because if you think the front of house at the Grand Budapest was amazing, you may not be able to take what is going on back of house…

First of all, rest assured, Wes Anderson fans are going to love this. It’s his dry sense of humor running through the film through and through and through. And if you’re not sure what that means, this is the film to try. Anderson builds a wonderful, surreal, colorful world filled with characters who, bizarrely perhaps, are some of the most believable we have ever met. I think it is the author’s (a wonderful, almost cameo-esque performance from Jude Law) straight faced every man approach to everything  that makes the whole semi-modern fairy tale just that tad more believable. But then again poker-faced absurd comedy has always been a very Anderson thing. It’s basically what I love about the man.

But we must, simply must spare a paragraph or two for M. Gustave. It’s an absolutely stellar performance from Fiennes, one of his most “fabulous” characters to date. And the best and most historic part of it is, he’s bisexual. Now, openly bisexual heroes are thin on the ground as they are. The whole concept of bisexuality is generally linked to something fishy. They are generally villains that stab you in the back in 1980’s movies. This of course is linked to the lack of comprehension of the fact that a person can be sexually attracted to two genders. It sounds… Fishy. My point has always been that one shouldn’t really have to fully understand something to accept, live and let live and even love a person. But then again, that’s my inner old-fashioned hippy. That said, M. Gustave makes no bones about using his sexuality. He charms and beds the older female clientele to make them “regular” clients. And yet at the other end of the spectrum Anderson makes Gustave openly camp in places; be it his obsession with romantic poetry, his cologne, his appreciation of delicate pastries or his effeminate gestures. But the fact that he is effeminate does not mean he is “ineffective”. That’s another thing that really annoys me about the “effeminate” hero is the incompetent one. You know, the one that falls on his face, not strong enough to do whatever it is… You know. The screen needed an openly effeminate action man like Gustave who can single-handedly (yet quite realistically) outsmart the villains and win the day in the end. This film is just about all the proof you need that if you keep a straight face and act natural you can pretty much make the most outrageous suggestion look normal - which is what Gustave does. My especial favorite is the fact that, just in case anyone is confused, one of the baddies yells “You’re bisexual!” at Gustave. Gustave’s answer is a facial expression but amounts to “Yeah, fair enough.”

I could write for pages and pages and still could not convey the atmosphere of The Grand Budapest. You really have to visit it yourself to understand. You will definitely fall under Gustave’s charms. I mean, there’s a reason it has barreled into the IMDB Top 250. 

THESE FELLAS NEED NO INTRODUCTION : "WALLACE AND GROMMIT – THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT"

I do not know a single person in the UK who doesn’t let out an exclamation of delight at the mere mention of Wallace and Grommit. I’m not entirely sure how well they travel but here they are almost universally adored. I mean, I’m sure there are some “haters” out there somewhere, stop-motion animation is not everyone’s cup of tea (or so I am told. I don’t see how this is possible but you know… It takes all sorts…). But the humour, the characters, the sheer imagination involved in the series combined with the decidedly British sense of humour… You can’t beat it. You really can’t. Not in this neck of the woods anyway. That’s why I have always thought a proper “film” (as in feature length) of the series was long overdue. Now, I know that this one has been around for quite some time, but just never got round to watching it until recently. I was later surprised to discover a few friends of mine who hadn’t heard of it at all. Hence, here is my review of it ASAP. This is definitely one you NEED to know about.

We return to the world of Wallace and Grommit, in their same old house in the same sleepy little town. As we all know by now, the professions of this gruesome twosome tend to change from episode to episode however, and the flavour of the week is humane pest control. You see, this particular little town is very much into its gardening but as it so happens it also has a big problem with rabbits – who aren’t, as you probably know, very conducive to gardening. But never fear, Wallace and Grommit will not only safeguard your garden, they guarantee that no fluffy bunnies are harmed in the process. You may, at this point, be asking yourself what exactly they do with the bunnies once they are caught. That, my friends, is the 64 million dollar question. Wallace and Grommit do not, as such, quite know what to do with them either. But they are under a tad bit of pressure to figure something out fast, not least because the annual giant vegetable competition is approaching. The entire town will be participating, as usual, and the last thing anyone wants is an outbreak of rabbits. Wallace, always the inventor, does not despair and continues trying to work something out. It is during these endeavours that the duo unwittingly unleash “the curse of the were rabbit”. As if normal rabbits were not causing enough trouble…

What I like the most about Wallace and Grommit is that it is, to my mind, one of the best examples of family-friendly fun. And having, alongside the brilliant Peter Sallis, a constant of the show, names like Helena Bonham Carter and Ralph Fiennes lending their voices to the characters only improves matters – if that were at all possible.  I know what everyone is always saying these days about children growing up so fast and not being as “naïve” as we were when we were their age but still. Given half a decent chance, audiences of literally ALL ages could enjoy Wallace and Grommit. Like a lot of good animations, the adult “in-jokes” are there, kept at a “decent” level, but providing not a few giggles along the way as you go. Besides, it is really what Wallace and Grommit is all about. It’s almost a sort of return to a more innocent time a bit pastoral, small town life and all that.  A return, brought rather smartly up to date with the fact that Wallace is the archetypal “absent-minded inventor” along with your typical country bumpkin. How do these two co-exist? If you don’t already know, it’s high time you found out…

For the fans, I’m delighted to tell you that this film is everything we know and love about Wallace and Grommit. I believe it was last week that I was mentioning how it’s good to have some “comfort films” close to hand where you know exactly what you’re about to see and in fact are watching it BECAUSE you know what you are about to see as it were. And this film is filled to the brim with the Wallace and Grommit type humour we all know and love by the bucked load. I don’t want to give too much in the way of the storyline away, simply because I was completely blindsided by, shall we say, a development in the story, providing the perfect surprise mid-way.

In short, if you’re a Wallace and Grommit fan, you will love it. And if you’re not a fan, well, this might be the day you become one. I promise you, you won’t regret it.