FOUR ROOMS Starring Tim Roth, Madonna, Jennifer Beals, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis. Directed by Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino. Category IIB. Opens Thursday at Golden Gateway, Majestic, Miramar, UA Queensway and UA Sha Tin.
Portmanteau films are in theory a good idea, allowing three or four directors to improvise on a main theme, each bringing their individual touches to the project. Unfortunately this one simply sees a quartet of America's youngest and finest having a laugh among themselves - often at the audience's expense.
Four Rooms features contributions by American indie whizz-kids Robert Rodriguez (From Dusk Till Dawn), Allison Anders (Gas, Food, Lodging), Alexandra Rockwell (In The Soup), and Quentin Tarantino, whose Band Apart production company is behind the whole caboodle.
The movie also features stars, including Madonna, Antonio Banderas and Bruce Willis.
Rodriguez's section is the best, while the other three vary between average and embarrassing.
The film's idea, which reportedly came from Rockwell, is simple. It is New Year's Eve in a Los Angeles hotel, and bell-boy Ted - played by British actor Tim Roth - is worked to the bone. But tonight, his clientele is a little more unusual than normal.
Each story is directed by a different director. There is very little overlap, except all the scenes feature the increasingly overwrought bellboy, Ted.
