Wes Anderson's 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

The new Wes Anderson movie 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' is silly.  I laughed a lot during the movie, but came away feeling disappointed and somewhat cheated.  I think that Wes Anderson is kind of a cult figure -- that you either 'get' his movies and think he's great; or you don't 'get' them and can't understand what all the fuss is about.

Official Poster for 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'

There were lots of very funny bits -- I especially enjoyed a chase scene that involved several Winter Olympic sports -- but they didn't really add up to a satisfying experience.  Most of the cast is made up of the usual 'Wes Anderson' repertory players -- Ralph Fiennes is Gustave H., the legendary concierge; Edward Norton is Henckels, the German officer; F. Murray Abraham is the elderly Zero Mustafa relating his story to the young writer Jude Law in the framing device; Willem Dafoe is the evil Jopling, Adrien Brody is Dmitri, the dispossessed heir; Bill Murray and Bob Baliban are fellow concierges at other European hotels; Owen Wilson is M. Chuck, the concierge that succeeds Gustave when the Nazis take over the hotel; Tilda Swinton is Madame D., patroness of Gustave; Saorise Ronan is Agatha, the girl from the bakery.  The real star is a newcomer, Tony Revelori, who plays the young Zero, lobby boy, protege, and sidekick of Gustave H.  Zero provides the narration that loosely holds the movie together and bridges its absurdities.

By all means, if you're a die-hard Wes Anderson fan, go see this movie.  If you're not, or if you aren't sure, you might want to avoid it.