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California Suite is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Herbert Ross. The screenplay by Neil Simon is based on his 1976 play of the same name. Similar to his earlier Plaza Suite, the film focuses on the dilemmas of guests staying in a suite in a luxury hotel. Maggie Smith won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film.

California Suite
Theatrical release poster by Drew Struzan
Directed by	Herbert Ross
Written by	Neil Simon
Based on	California Suite by Neil Simon
Produced by	Ray Stark
Starring	Alan Alda Michael Caine Bill Cosby Jane Fonda Walter Matthau Elaine May Richard Pryor Maggie Smith
Cinematography	David M. Walsh
Edited by	Michael A. Stevenson
Music by	Claude Bolling
Production company	Rastar
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date	December 22, 1978 (1978-12-22)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$42 million[1]

Plot

In "Visitors from New York", Hannah Warren (Jane Fonda) is a Manhattan workaholic who flies to Los Angeles to retrieve her teenage daughter Jenny (Dana Plato) after she leaves home to live with her successful screenwriter father Bill (Alan Alda). The bickering, divorced couple are forced to decide what living arrangements are best for the girl.

In "Visitors from London", Diana Barrie (Maggie Smith) is a British actress and a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress in an independent British film, an honor that could revive her faltering career, but she knows she has no chance of winning. She is in deep denial about the true nature of her marriage of convenience to Sidney Cochran (Michael Caine), a once-closeted gay antique dealer who has become increasingly indiscreet about his sexuality. As she prepares for her moment in the spotlight, her mood fluctuates from hope to panic to despair.

In "Visitors from Philadelphia", conservative, middle-aged businessman Marvin Michaels (Walter Matthau) awakens to discover a prostitute (Denise Galik) named Bunny - an unexpected gift from his brother Harry (Herb Edelman) - unconscious in his bed. With his wife Millie (Elaine May) on her way up to the suite, he must find a way to conceal all traces of his uncharacteristic indiscretion.

In "Visitors from Chicago", Dr. Chauncey Gump (Richard Pryor) and his wife Lola (Gloria Gifford) and Dr. Willis Panama (Bill Cosby) and his wife Bettina (Sheila Frazier) are taking a much-needed vacation together. Things begin to unravel quickly when everything seems to go wrong, and the two men decide to settle their differences by engaging in a very competitive tennis match.

Cast

• Alan Alda as Bill Warren
• Michael Caine as Sidney Cochran
• Bill Cosby as Dr. Willis Panama
• Jane Fonda as Hannah Warren
• Walter Matthau as Marvin Michaels
• Elaine May as Millie Michaels
• Richard Pryor as Dr. Chauncey Gump
• Maggie Smith as Diana Barrie
• Herb Edelman as Harry Michaels
• Sheila Frazier as Bettina Panama
• Denise Galik as Bunny
• Gloria Gifford as Lola Gump
• Dana Plato as Jenny Warren

Production

The film was shot on location at The Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Los Angeles Music Center, and along Rodeo Drive.

Diana and Sidney's arrival at the Academy Awards was actually shot during the arrivals for the 50th Academy Awards in April, 1978. This may explain the muted response from a real-life crowd unfamiliar with the names Diana Barrie and Sidney Cochran.

The California-themed paintings seen in the opening credits are by pop artist David Hockney. While the play featured two actors and two actresses each playing several roles, the film features a different actor for each role.

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called California Suite "the most agreeably realised Simon film in years" and added "Here is Mr. Simon in top form, under the direction of Herbert Ross, one of the few directors...who can cope with the particular demands of material that simultaneously means to be touching and so nonstop clever one sometimes wants to gag him. It all works in California Suite, not only because the material is superior Simon, but also because the writer and the director have assembled a dream cast."[2]

Variety observed "Neil Simon and Herbert Ross have gambled in radically altering the successful format of California Suite as it appeared on stage. Instead of four separate playlets, there is now one semi-cohesive narrative revolving around visitors to the Beverly Hills Hotel...The technique is less than successful, veering from poignant emotionalism to broad slapstick in sudden shifts."[3]

Time Out New York described the film as "quick and varied comedy, highly suited to Neil Simon's machine-gun gag-writing" and added "Fonda provides the film with its centre, giving another performance of unnerving sureness. Also on the credit side is a bedroom farce of epic proportions from Matthau and May. The other vignettes are a bit glum."[4]

Channel 4 stated "It's an expertly crafted slick movie that sets up each of its coconuts and knocks them over with a sure eye, but ultimately it's emotional sushi rather than satisfying catharsis."[5]

California Suite holds a rating of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews with the consensus: "Maggie Smith's acidic turn is the standout in this stacked ensemble, but broad characterizations and an unsure tone make for a disappointingly uneven adaptation of Neil Simon's episodic play."

The New York Times placed the film on its Best 1000 Movies Ever list.[6]

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Maggie Smith	Won
	Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium	Neil Simon	Nominated
	Best Art Direction	Albert Brenner and Marvin March	Nominated
British Academy Film Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Maggie Smith	Nominated
Evening Standard British Film Awards	Best Actress		Won
Golden Globe Awards	Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy		Nominated
	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy	Maggie Smith	Won[lower-alpha 1]
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Won
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress	Jane Fonda (also for Comes a Horseman and Coming Home)	Won
National Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Actor	Michael Caine	4th Place
	Best Actress	Jane Fonda	2nd Place
		Maggie Smith	4th Place
	Best Supporting Actress		3rd Place
New York Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Runner-up
Writers Guild of America Awards	Best Comedy – Adapted from Another Medium	Neil Simon	Nominated

Home media

The film was released on DVD on Region 1 DVD on January 2, 2002. It is in anamorphic widescreen format with audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai.

See also

• Plaza Suite
• London Suite (play)

Notes

References

External links

• California Suite at IMDb
• California Suite at Rotten Tomatoes
• California Suite at the TCM Movie Database

На других языках

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- [en] California Suite (film)

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[ru] Калифорнийский отель (фильм)

«Калифорнийский отель» (англ. California Suite) — американский комедийный фильм 1978 года, снятый Гербертом Россом. Сценарий написан Нилом Саймоном и основан на его одноимённой пьесе. Фильм фокусируется на дилеммах гостей, проживающих в люксе в отеле премиум-класса. Мэгги Смит получила премию «Оскар» за лучшую женскую роль второго плана за роль в фильме.

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