Review of The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) by Alex M — 19 Sep 2010

A quirky murder mystery about an FBI agent trying to weed out the killer who lives amongst many other nutcases at a run-down hotel for those too poor to afford medical insurance. It's an interesting cast of oddball characters, i'm sure which was very fun for each of the actors. However, Mel Gibson as good as he was in his role as macho-frankenstienish cop, he didn't feel like he belonged in the role. Here was an A-list actor being cast to the side as a supporting character, while Tom-Tom and Milla Jovavich were the headliners. It was a strange story, but with this kind of story about mentally ill people, you can't expect the story or style of the film to be of the norm, can you?

It's a little slow, and might be boring for non-film enthusiasts, or even people misled by the 'mel gibson' sidelines role. if you want to see good performances of crazy people for both comedic and dramatic entertainment, check this out. it's certainly an interesting study. the ending isn't all that surprising since you saw it in the beginning of the film but it does leave a large impact in the end. this film is certainly not for everyone or even the normal crowd, just give it a rent if you're into the offbeat stuff or if you are a fan of the several brilliant actors like peter stormare, milla jovovich and jimmy smits. Peter Stormare's character was spot-on and really authentic I felt, he totally could have been the fifth beatle.