California Suite (1978) Reviews

• Maggie Smith Says "Bizarre"

  alanbenfieldjr2017-12-15

  That's the one thing I remembered about this Neil Simon comedy, Maggie Smith saying "That's not funny, that's bizarre" I had never heard the word "bizarre" like that. Bee-zaaaarr, or something like that but Maggie Smith uses it brilliantly as an irresistible comic tool. I remember being kind of put off because Maggie won an Oscar for this over Meryl Streep for The Deer Hunter but, watching it now. I understand. Maggie Smith is fantastic and her marital banter with Michael Caine is a total delight. The movie, as a movie is a whole other story. Flimsy and dated with a musical score that may remind you of some of most generic TV movie. Jane Fonda is great, Elaine May and Walter Matthau, hilarious but it also has Bill Cosby, hard to watch now and a hilarious Richard Pryor. Herbert Ross directs respectfully but without any cinematic ambitions. Maggie Smith and Michael Caine however make the whole thing worth it.

• Mediocre Simon is better than none...

  Isaac58552005-12-08

  California SUITE is the 1978 film adaptation of Neil Simons' quartet of one-acts set at swank Los Angeles hotel. Out of the four stories, the strongest is "Visitors from London" which stars Maggie Smith as an actress in town for the Academy Awards after receiving her first nomination, in deep denial about her in-name only marriage to a closeted antique dealer (Michael Caine). Smith delivers a flawless comedy performance that ironically won her her second Oscar, this time for Best Supporting Actress. Caiine is just as effective in this bittersweet tale. "Visitors from New York" stars Jane Fonda as a workaholic New Yorker who has flown to California to retrieve her daughter (Dana Plato) who flew away from home to move in with Fonda's ex (Alan Alda). Fonda's character is a little on the unsympathetic side but she and Alda make their scenes work. "Visitors from Philadelphia" stars Walter Matthau as a man in town for a convention who tries to conceal from his visiting wife (Elaine May) that there's a passed out hooker in his bed. This episode is pure slapstick with little substance but Matthau makes it bearable. The other episode "Visitors from Chicago" stars Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Sheila Frazier, and Gloria Gifford as two couples vacationing together who get involved in some silly travel situations. This is definitely the weakest of the four playlets and looks like it should be in another movie of its own. A well-mounted, but spotty effort at best, California SUITE is worth the rental for the glorious performance of Maggie Smith alone.

• A mixed bag

  mjtsmm20272004-12-12

  Having always felt that Neil Simon's work, though generally wonderful, can be hit and miss, California Suite seems to represent this more than any of his other pieces. Clearly he is a writer for performers and how well some of them respond here. Jane Fonda gives a remarkably assured and confident performance mixing vulnerability with stubbornness so effortlessly. Yes her segment is perhaps, stripped down, just the age old East/West Coast argument but it becomes a very human story about 2 people who were once in love. So great to see such a female character like hers on the screen and Jane Fonda is so skilled at introducing pathos whilst still being able to somewhat distance the viewer. It really is ultimately a very touching episode. The Caine/Smith segment is also tremendous fun with Dame Maggie doing her Margo Channing bit. The Oscar she won for this tributes her comic skills here which have perhaps been underused in her career. The wonderful Elaine May also stands out in a true farce with Mr Matthau but The Pryor/Cosby section is plainly, embarrassingly bad. It feels as if it was written by a poor sitcom writer and there are enoguh embarrassing sitcoms from America polluting the world's television. All in all, a very watchable film but wouldn't you just love to have the facility to edit films for your own viewing.

• My brief review of the film

  sol-2005-06-29

  An ensemble cast that dreams are made of is present in this film, and all deliver quite well, even Walter Matthau who goes a bit over-the-top. Smith deservedly won an Oscar for her role as a screen actress loses her first Oscar nomination in a very long career. As her husband, Caine is also good, but the next two best performances come from Fonda and Alda as a bickering divorced couple. Those four performers, however, only cover two out of four tales in this film, and the other two are not as well as acted and neither are they filled with the same quality of witty dialogue. It is bit weird to watch the overall film, as it becomes fragmented by the transitions between each of the stories, and towards the end the lesser interesting tales dominate. With just the Fonda/Alda and Smith/Caine stories, this is excellent, very well written stuff. With all four put together, it is still quite interesting stuff, but nothing too great.

• Too few scenes with Maggie Smith and Michael Caine

  Smartdoggy-12005-03-28

  I think the movie contains funny parts, but some scenes are not that interesting, for example Alan Alda talking way too much stuff. So I think it's only about average. I must say, though, that Michael Caine and Maggie Smith did great work. They are a nice couple and really fit together very well. In my opinion their scenes are the best of the movie. I love their funny and sarcastic conversations - it's entertaining and one of the reasons I actually watched the movie until the end. I'm just a little disappointed that they don't show up as often as I'd like. It would've been more interesting that way. Of course there are lots of other big names in that movie, e.g. Walter Matthau, Alan Alda and Jane Fonda, but I must really underline Maggie Smith's and Michael Caine's good performances.