Plustown
A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.
vchimpanzee
Vincent is a maid at New Hotel Redmond in Redmond, Oregon. Depending on who is describing it, it is either three stars, four stars, two and a half stars or moderately priced. His father, who left for another woman when Vincent was a boy, was a maid. Vincent feels being a maid is his destiny, and while his father may not have deserved respect, being a maid is his way of honoring his father.People make fun of Vincent for doing a woman's job. In fact, he is always getting teased for one reason or another. He likes Chloe, a beautiful but untalented musician who performs at a local bar and goes out with Buck. Vincent has a friend Bobby who used to be a rodeo performer.Vincent lives in a camping trailer near a lake (though a secret room in the hotel is said to be his) and appears to be building a house one board at a time. We later learn it is a stage. The man who works at the lumber yard and knew Vincent's father talks with what is called an electrolarynx.Vincent also is quite friendly with Tory, a pretty but conservative girl who runs the hotel for her father. Terressa, another maid, advises Vincent to make Chloe jealous by dating Tory. The plan backfires because Vincent and Tory really like each other. And Terressa, who is mean and also supplements her income by being a hooker, makes sure to mess things up for Vincent.The hotel janitor, whose son makes Chloe look like Taylor Swift but continues to humiliate himself frequently, also constantly makes Vincent's life miserable. This after Tory suggested Vincent do maintenance and Vincent didn't want to do work that was the other man's.Meanwhile, the hotel owes $40,000 and the bank could foreclose. A big company wants to buy the hotel and there's no guarantee what will happen if they do, or if the hotel will even remain standing. Vincent has a possible job offer from a hotel in California, but this is his home and he doesn't want to leave. Chloe knows a popular country singer named Sissy Tailor who might do a benefit concert, so Vincent gets to work organizing the event, which will take place on that stage where he lives.So will they save the hotel? Who will Vincent end up with, if anyone?This is a good movie. I wouldn't call it a family comedy but it is quite funny. There is lots of bad language, some of which didn't make it past censors, and more sex talk than I am comfortable with. Plus Jane Lynch has a memorable role as a woman who likes S & M.On the other hand, there is respect for Christian values. While many of the characters yell "Jesus" like a curse word, Jesus means a lot to Tory. Although Tory wants to follow the Kama Sutra, and I'm pretty sure she's talking about having sex before being married, which is supposed to be a no-no. And she does a couple of other things that go against her faith. Still, Sara Rue does a great job in the role and Tory is mostly quite adorable and intelligent.Phillip Vaden is quite good as well.A singer named John Doe does a fine job as an actor, playing country singer Sissy Taylor. Don't be fooled by the name. He is tough but friendly.Justina Machado, as nasty as she is, is quite talented.There is a tender scene where Rapael Sbarge as Vincent's father assures the boy he loves him even though he is leaving.Other actors in this movie do a good job too.On the other hand, Steve Hytner, playing a businessman who has no respect for Vincent, comes across as little more than a cartoon.It's worth seeing.
lizmain
I really enjoyed this film. It had a simple story line which worked well and although most of the cast were unknown to me they were really good and believable. Chloe's singing put me in mind of Phoebe in "Friends" and her Indian chants were quite good and amusing. I thought that it was a nice gentle film which had some funny laugh out loud moments; the 'Guvnor' handyman and his performing son both being very comical. I also thought that it was intelligently written-not overly sentimental and has a "feel good" element to it.It is not a violent or nasty film and I would love to add this to my DVD collection as I would watch it again. I would rank it alongside Postcards from the Edge and Crossing Delancey films which I like-no one gets killed!Plus it is good to see Raphael Sbarge on screen again.
