The Hotel New Hampshire (film)

Last updated

The Hotel New Hampshire
Hotel new hampshire ver1.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Tony Richardson
Screenplay byTony Richardson
Based on The Hotel New Hampshire
by John Irving
Produced by
Starring
Narrated byRob Lowe
Cinematography David Watkin
Edited byRobert K. Lambert
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 9, 1984 (1984-03-09)
Running time
110 minutes [1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • Canada
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7.5 million [2]
Box office$5.1 million [3]

The Hotel New Hampshire is a 1984 comedy-drama film written and directed by Tony Richardson based on John Irving's 1981 novel of the same name. A co-production from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, it stars Jodie Foster, Beau Bridges, Rob Lowe, Nastassja Kinski, also featuring Wilford Brimley, Amanda Plummer, Matthew Modine, and Seth Green in his film debut. The film follows the Berry family that weathers all sorts of disasters and keeps going in spite of it all.

Contents

In an introductory foreword that he wrote for a later edition of the novel, author Irving stated that he was thrilled when Richardson informed him that he wanted to adapt the book to the screen. Irving wrote that he was very happy with the adaptation, complaining only that he felt Richardson tried to make the film too faithful to the book, noting the manner in which Richardson would often speed up the action in an attempt to include more material onscreen.

Noted for its assortment of oddball characters, The Hotel New Hampshire was theatrically released by Orion Pictures on March 9, 1984. Although a box office failure grossing $5.1 million against its $7.5 million budget, it has been praised by the critics, particularly for its screenplay, performances, and faithful adaptation.

Plot

In the 1950s, Win Berry and his wife have five children, John, Franny, Frank, Lilly, and Egg. The Berrys decide to open a hotel near the prep school that John, Franny, and Frank attend; they call it the Hotel New Hampshire.

John loses his virginity to the hotel waitress. Frank comes out to Franny and John. Franny is raped by big man on campus Chip Dove and his buddies, and is rescued by Junior Jones and other black members of the football team. John confesses that he's in love with her. The family dog, Sorrow, dies and Frank has him stuffed. Sorrow's reappearance at Christmas causes grandfather Iowa Bob to suffer a fatal heart attack.

A letter arrives from their friend Freud, inviting the Berrys to move to Vienna and run Freud's gasthaus. The family flies to Europe; tragically, the plane carrying Mrs. Berry and Egg explodes, killing them. In Vienna, the family moves into the gasthaus and renames it Hotel New Hampshire.

An upper floor houses prostitutes and the basement is occupied by various political radicals. Assisting Freud, who has gone blind, is Susie the Bear, who lives her life almost completely in a bear costume. One of the radicals, Ernst, resembles Chip Dove and Franny becomes infatuated with him. Susie and John, who are both in love with Franny, try to keep her away from him. Susie is initially successful in seducing Franny, who soon ends up with Ernst. Lilly, now an adult but still in a 13-year-old body, begins writing a novel called Trying to Grow.

Miss Miscarriage, a radical, grows very fond of the family, and especially of Lilly. She invites John to hers, sleeping with him, then warns him to get the family out of Vienna. For her trouble, another of the radicals murders her. Back at the hotel, John and the rest of the family are caught up in the radicals' plan to blow up the Vienna State Opera with a car bomb. The blind Freud, to spare the family, volunteers to drive with one of the radicals. As he leaves, the Berrys attack the remaining radicals and Freud detonates the bomb right outside the hotel. Ernst is killed and Win is blinded in the explosion.

Hailed as heroes by the Austrians, the Berry family decides to return home. Lilly's novel is published and the interest in the Berrys' story leads to a biopic, written by Lilly and starring Franny as herself. The Berrys are in New York City when John and Susie run into Chipper Dove on the streets. The group lure him to Franny's hotel suite and take their revenge upon him, until Franny calls it off.

Meanwhile, John's love for Franny has not abated. She finally calls him over to her room, and hoping to get him over it once and for all, has sex with him for almost a day. Franny's Hollywood career is beginning to take off, with Frank acting as her agent and with Junior Jones back in the picture. Lilly's writing career has stalled, and depressed and suffering from writer's block, she commits suicide.

Later, John is staying with his father at the latest Hotel New Hampshire, which stands empty. Susie comes to stay with them and she and John become involved. Win heartily approves because, as he puts it, every hotel needs a bear.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in Montreal and Tadoussac, Quebec; [4] the 1864 Hotel Tadoussac, on the St. Lawrence River, is among the locations. [5] Tadoussac, a village of 857 inhabitants (2005), was once an important seventeenth century French trading post.[ citation needed ]

Lowe said "I can't wait for the movie to open. I think it's wonderful, and it really gives me a showcase to do some things I haven't been able to do." [6]

As a guest on the January 12, 2022, episode of the podcast “Fly on the Wall with Dana Carvey and David Spade”, Rob Lowe said Matthew Modine accidentally broke his nose with a steel-toed boot on a stunt gone wrong. Lowe claims the director was so mad at Modine, something evident during the whole production, he had his voice dubbed in post production by someone else.

Music

The rock band Queen was asked by producers to compose an entire soundtrack for the film, but the producers later changed their minds in favour of classical music. Freddie Mercury had already composed the song "Keep Passing the Open Windows" and so it ended up on their 1984 album The Works .

"Keep passing the open windows"

This phrase recurs throughout the film as a catchphrase among the Berry family. It is drawn from a story that the Berry parents tell their children, about a street performer called "The King of Mice". Saying "keep passing the open windows" is the family's way of telling each other to persevere. Lilly kills herself by jumping, having failed to pass that open window.

Flag error

When the Berry family is honored by the Austrian government, the hall is decorated not with Austrian flags, but instead with the flag of Tahiti, which is similar with its red and white stripes but has quite different and unequal proportions on its stripes.

Reception

Box office

The Hotel New Hampshire opened on March 9, 1984, earning $1,075,800 in its opening weekend, ranking No. 11 at the United States box office. [7] By the end of its run, the film grossed $5,142,858 in the domestic box office. [3] Based on an estimated $7.5 million budget, [2] this can be considered a box office bomb.

Rob Lowe later said "When some studios do get a good movie, a movie that's different, they kill it. Orion – I hate that studio; I won't work for them again for all the money in the world – releases Hotel New Hampshire with a cartoon of a bear: people thought they were going to see Garfield the Cat. Then they change it to a bicycle for five: people thought they were going to see the Von Trapp family." [8]

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 71% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 6.26/10. [9]

Home media

The film was released on Region 1 DVD on July 10, 2001.

It was released on Blu-ray on January 5, 2016. [10]

Related Research Articles

Cecil Antonio Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer whose career spanned five decades. In 1964, he won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film Tom Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Lowe</span> American actor (born 1964)

Robert Hepler Lowe is an American actor, filmmaker, and podcast host. He made his acting debut at the age of 15 with ABC's short-lived sitcom A New Kind of Family (1979–1980). Following numerous television roles in the early 1980s, he came to prominence as a teen idol and member of the Brat Pack with roles in films like The Outsiders (1983), Class (1983), The Hotel New Hampshire (1984), Oxford Blues (1984), St. Elmo's Fire (1985), About Last Night... (1986), and Square Dance (1987). The success of these films established him as a Hollywood star.

<i>The Hotel New Hampshire</i> 1981 novel by John Irving

The Hotel New Hampshire is a 1981 coming of age novel by American-Canadian writer John Irving, his fifth published novel.

<i>Home Alone 2: Lost in New York</i> 1992 film by Chris Columbus

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and written and produced by John Hughes. The sequel to the 1990 film Home Alone and the second film in the Home Alone franchise, the film stars Macaulay Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard, Tim Curry, Brenda Fricker and Catherine O'Hara. It follows Kevin McCallister as he is separated from his family on their holiday vacation to Florida, this time in New York City where he has another encounter with the Wet Bandits after their escape from prison.

<i>Class</i> (film) 1983 film by Lewis John Carlino

Class is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lewis John Carlino, starring Rob Lowe, Jacqueline Bisset, Andrew McCarthy, and Cliff Robertson. In addition to being Lowe's second film, it marked the film debuts of McCarthy, John Cusack, Virginia Madsen, Casey Siemaszko, and Lolita Davidovich.

<i>Birdy</i> (film) 1984 American drama film

Birdy is a 1984 American drama film based on William Wharton's 1978 novel of the same name. Directed by Alan Parker, it stars Matthew Modine and Nicolas Cage. Set in 1960s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the film focuses on the friendship between two teenage boys, Birdy (Modine) and Al Columbato (Cage). The story is presented in flashbacks, with a frame narrative depicting their traumatic experiences upon serving in the Vietnam War.

<i>Oxford Blues</i> 1984 film by Robert Boris

Oxford Blues is a 1984 British comedy-drama sports film written and directed by Robert Boris and starring Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy and Amanda Pays. It is a remake of the 1938 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film A Yank at Oxford and was Lowe's first starring role in a feature.

<i>Boogeyman</i> (film) 2005 film by Stephen Kay

Boogeyman is a 2005 supernatural horror film directed by Stephen Kay and starring Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Skye McCole Bartusiak, Tory Mussett, Charles Mesure, and Lucy Lawless. Written by Eric Kripke, Juliet Snowden, and Stiles White, from a story by Kripke, the film is a new take on the classic "boogeyman", or monster in the closet, who is the titular antagonist of the film. The plot concerns a young man, Tim Jensen, who must confront the childhood terror that has affected his life.

<i>Meet the Robinsons</i> 2007 animated Disney film

Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American animated science-fiction comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is loosely based on the 1990 children's book A Day with Wilbur Robinson by William Joyce. The film was directed by Stephen J. Anderson and produced by Dorothy McKim, from a screenplay that Anderson co-wrote with Don Hall, Nathan Greno, Joe Mateo, Jon Bernstein, Michelle Spitz, and Aurian Redson. The film stars the voices of Daniel Hansen, Jordan Fry, Wesley Singerman, Angela Bassett, Tom Selleck, Harland Williams, Laurie Metcalf, Nicole Sullivan, Adam West, Ethan Sandler, Tom Kenny, and Anderson. It follows an orphaned 12-year-old inventor, Lewis, who is desperate to be adopted. He meets Wilbur, a young time-traveler who takes him to the year 2037 to visit an eccentric family, the Robinsons. They must prevent a mysterious bowler-hatted man from changing Lewis' fate, and, by proxy, the future.

<i>Transporter 2</i> 2005 film

Transporter 2 is a 2005 English-language French action film directed by Louis Leterrier and written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen. It is the sequel to The Transporter (2002) and the second installment in the Transporter franchise. It stars Jason Statham as Frank Martin, with Alessandro Gassmann, Amber Valletta, Kate Nauta, François Berléand, Matthew Modine, and Jason Flemyng. In the film, Frank Martin (Statham) is tasked with protecting the young son of politician Jefferson Billings (Modine) from an international drugs cartel.

<i>Three OClock High</i> 1987 film by Phil Joanou

Three O'Clock High is a 1987 American teen comedy film directed by Phil Joanou. The script, about a meek high schooler who is forced into a fight with an unstable new transfer student, is based on the high school experiences of screenwriters Richard Christian Matheson and Thomas Szollosi. It was shot in Ogden, Utah.

<i>Bad Influence</i> (film) 1990 film by Curtis Hanson

Bad Influence is a 1990 American psychological thriller film directed by Curtis Hanson starring Rob Lowe and James Spader. In this noirish film, Spader plays a yuppie who meets a mysterious stranger (Lowe) who encourages him to explore his dark side. Bad Influence was the first original screenplay for which David Koepp received a sole screenplay credit.

<i>Frank and Jesse</i> 1994 film

Frank and Jesse is a 1994 American biographical Western film written and directed by Robert Boris and starring Rob Lowe as Jesse James and Bill Paxton as Frank James. Based on the story of Jesse James, the film focuses more on myths of The James Brothers than the real history. It originally aired on HBO.

<i>The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean</i> 1972 film

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean is a 1972 American Western comedy film written by John Milius, directed by John Huston, and starring Paul Newman. It was loosely based on the life and times of Judge Roy Bean.

<i>The Train Robbers</i> 1973 film by Burt Kennedy

The Train Robbers is a 1973 American Western film written and directed by Burt Kennedy and starring John Wayne, Ann-Margret, Rod Taylor, Ben Johnson, and Ricardo Montalbán. Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico. Two brief scenes take place in the square that was used for the final shootout in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

<i>Bye Bye Love</i> (film) 1995 American film

Bye Bye Love is a 1995 American romantic comedy film that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall. It stars Matthew Modine, Randy Quaid, Paul Reiser, Janeane Garofalo, Amy Brenneman, Eliza Dushku, Rob Reiner, Amber Benson, and Lindsay Crouse. Production costs were heavily underwritten by McDonald's product placement.

John Berry was an American film director, who went into exile in France when his career was interrupted by the Hollywood blacklist.

<i>Orphans</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by Alan J. Pakula

Orphans is a 1987 American drama film directed by Alan J. Pakula. Written by Lyle Kessler, based on his 1983 play of the same name, the film follows two orphaned brothers as they navigate life on their own.

<i>Scandalous</i> (film) 1984 American film

Scandalous is a 1984 British-American comedy film directed by Rob Cohen and starring Robert Hays, John Gielgud and Pamela Stephenson.

<i>Breakaway</i> (2011 film) 2011 Canadian film

Breakaway is a 2011 Canadian English-language sports-comedy film directed by Robert Lieberman, and produced by Akshay Kumar and Paul Gross. The film stars Vinay Virmani in his debut performance opposite Camilla Belle, with Rob Lowe, Russell Peters and Anupam Kher in pivotal roles. It also features Akshay Kumar, Drake and Ludacris in cameo roles. In addition, This was the last film directed by Lieberman before his death in July 2023. The film also contains songs in Hindi and Punjabi.

References

  1. 1 2 "THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE (18)". British Board of Film Classification . April 2, 1984. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "The Hotel New Hampshire (1984) – Box office / business". Internet Movie Database . Amazon.com . Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 "The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ "The Hotel New Hampshire". afi.com. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  5. ↑ Ondash, E'Louise (June 22, 2016). "An historic adventure along the 'Mighty St. Lawrence'". The Coast News . Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  6. ↑ THE YOUNG ACTORS: FOR LOWE, AT 20, LEADING ROLES ALREADY Lyman, Rick. Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Mar 1984: K.1.
  7. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for March 9–11, 1984". Box Office Mojo . Internet Movie Database . Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ Rob Lowe has more on his mind than hordes of squealing girls Scott, Jay. The Globe and Mail, 28 Sep 1984: E.3.
  9. ↑ "The Hotel New Hampshire (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  10. ↑ "The Hotel New Hampshire (March 9, 1984) (Blu-ray)". Amazon. January 5, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/02avTs0TF3YxAePmW2WtVV?si=_BdtNmAhReKmsgDXjgk0Zw

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.