Four intertwined stories set at a posh London hotel: A wife (Julia Louis Dreyfus) loses her husband (Jonathan Silverman) on their honeymoon. A daughter (Margot Steinberg) urges her widowed mother (Madeline Kahn) to go on a date with a Scotsman (Richard Mulligan). An American couple (Michael Richards, Julie Hagerty) plan to attend Wimbledon but she loses the tickets and his back goes out. An English actress (Patricia Clarkson), now living in America, visits with her gay ex-husband (Kelsey Grammer). Neil Simon had Broadway hits with
PLAZA SUITE and
CALIFORNIA SUITE (both made into successful films) so I suppose it was inevitable he'd try the formula for a third time. Oddly, it opened off-Broadway (where it ran 9 months) rather than on Broadway. Alas, by this time, the formula was overworked and Simon's one liners are tired. In fact, Simon ditched one of the original play's four stories and substituted the honeymoon episode. It's disheartening to see a mostly talented cast trying so hard for laughs that never come. I mean if the great Madeline Kahn can't bring at least a smile to your face, something is seriously wrong. Clarkson and Grammer (who's awful!) play the same characters played by Maggie Smith and Michael Caine in
CALIFORNIA SUITE but with much less success. Directed by Jay Sandrich. With Kristen Johnston (TV's
THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN), Jane Carr (
PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE) and Paxton Whitehead (the only actor to repeat his stage role).
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