Four Rooms: Check In...

Four Rooms" stars Tim Roth and co-stars many stars including Madonna, Antonio Banderas, Kathy Griffin, and Quentin Tarantino. Salma Hayek even has a cameo appearance as the TV Dancing Girl in the segment "The Misbehaviors".

The movie opens with a retiring bellboy handing his job over to the flamboyant Ted the Bellboy (Tim Roth). The four tales take place all on New Year's Eve at the Mon Signor Hotel. Four connecting stories told by four of the hottest Indie filmmakers around. On Ted's first night on the job, he encounters a coven of witches, a man who believes that Ted the Bellboy slept with his wife, a Mexican gangster who bribes him to watch his kids, and finally a group of friends who make an unforgettable wager. Along the way, Ted the Bellboy is getting large tips along with an unforgettable New Year.

First story is titled "The Missing Ingredient", written and directed by Alison Anders. This sketch has a outrageous concept involving male fluids of the overly dramatic Ted the Bellboy. Other than having a few topless hotties, this short story didn't interest me. If you can get pass this strange and disappointing ritual done by the erotic coven of witches, you will discover that the rest of the movie is uphill from there.

The next story is titled "The Wrong Man", written and directed by Alexandre Rockwell. This act easily crowns the first by a large margin by introducing us to Sigfried, a pill munching psycho who believes that Ted the Bellboy had an affair with his wife Angela (Jennifer Beals). Apart from Angela ranting off a list of slang terms pertaining to the male organ and being introduced to the high-powered character Sigfried, it still disappoints by leaving me confused in the end.

The third story is titled "The Misbehaviors", written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. They just keep getting better as they go along. At least this one is a more entertaining segment than the last two bleak tales. A gangster looking to have a good time with his wife, pays Ted the Bellboy a total of five hundred dollars to watch after his mischievous children. The ending is sure to make you crack a grin.

The last story is titled "The Man from Hollywood", written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The most interesting and satisfying of the four skits, involving a group of wasted middle aged men who made a wager and want sober, clear eyed Ted the Bellboy to be their so-called "dice man". Filled with Tarantino's dialog, style and wit, this routine has a climax that is unsuspected and surely jaw-dropping.

In the long run, the first story falls flat with it's outrageous concept, the second is mediocre at best, the third is an entertaining romp, and the last is pure gold. One thing is for sure, Ted the Bellboy gets rich in tips at the end. This leaves me to the conclusion that I only recommend this for hardcore Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino fans like myself. 3/5 stars