Movie · 1978 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 1h 43m · PG · English
Curator score: 2.3/10 (16.5K ratings)
The best two-hour vacation in town!
Overview
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Ratings
Curator score: 2.3/10
IMDb: 6.2/10
Letterboxd: 3.10/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
TMDB: 5.8/10
Director
Herbert Ross
Production
Columbia Pictures, Rastar Productions
Cast
Jane Fonda, Alan Alda, Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Herb Edelman, Denise Galik, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby, Gloria Gifford, Sheila Frazier, David Sheehan, Michael Boyle, Len Lawson, Gino Ardito, Jerrold Ziman, Clint Young, David Matthau, James Espinoza
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, uneven anthology of hotel-room farce and marital comedy that’s carried more by the cast than by structural unity. It has sharp one-liners, a few memorable performances, and enough 1970s adult-comedy bite to reward the right viewer, but it also feels fragmented and occasionally thin.
Best for
Neil Simon fans
ensemble comedy lovers
viewers who enjoy stagey, dialogue-driven humor
fans of 1970s star-driven studio comedies
people who like bittersweet relationship sketches
Skip if
you want a tightly unified narrative
you dislike anthology structures
you prefer subtle or naturalistic comedy
you’re sensitive to dated sexual politics and slurs
you need every subplot to feel fully developed
Overview
California Suite is less a single movie than four polished dinner-party arguments in a luxury hotel, stitched together by a shared setting and a very game cast. The result is uneven, but often amusing in the way only a well-written, high-gloss 1970s comedy can be: brittle, talky, self-conscious, and occasionally very funny about ego, marriage, and status anxiety.
Worth noting
The strongest pleasure here is watching the performers land Neil Simon’s barbed lines. Maggie Smith is the standout, but the film also gives flashes of charm to the wider ensemble, especially when it leans into awkward romantic sparring or social humiliation. When it works, it feels like a smart, lightly cruel comedy of manners; when it doesn’t, the anthology format makes the seams obvious.
Bottom line
If you like your comedies to be a little theatrical and a little acidic, this is worth a look. If you want something more cohesive or emotionally deep, it may feel like a collection of promising sketches rather than a fully satisfying whole.
Top Letterboxd reviews
demi adejuyigbe · 255 likes
This movie feels like four different movies combined into one. But that’s okay because I actually really like movies. Very big fan of Walter Matthau and Elaine May!!!!
Sam (3★) · 238 likes
“Glenda Jackson never comes and she’s nominated every goddamn year!”
In this movie, Maggie Smith’s character loses an Oscar. In real life, she won the Oscar for this performance. The irony is killing me.
eely (3.5★) · 157 likes
“I don’t vote, dear. I’m not a member of the motion picture academy. I’m an antique dealer. one day, when you’re an antique, I shall vote for you. It’s a promise.”
getting to see jane fonda in a bikini, maggie smith and (bisexual!!) michael caine argue about the pointlessness of the academy awards, walter matthau and elaine may as an adorable married couple, and richard pryor hitting bill cosby over the head with a tennis racket almost made up for… more
Chris Feil (2★) · 126 likes
Maggie Smith won an Oscar for shouting “faggot!” at Michael Caine and then begging him to open his eyes while he fucks her, and she’s honestly pretty great
David Whitman (3★) · 112 likes
This is an anthology comedy film that follows four different stories. They are all connected by guests staying at suite in a fancy hotel.
This film should be much better than it is considering the stacked cast: Alan Alda, Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, Walter Matthau, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby (fuck you, Bill Cosby), Maggie Smith and James Coburn. How could this go wrong?
This is a film that wants to be something like Robert Altman’s Nashville, but fails. Neil Simon’s… more
1966 · Comedy, Drama, Crime · 2h 5m · NR · Curator 5.5/10 (32.3K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A sharp comedy of manipulation and marital dysfunction with a strong satirical streak.