TWITVIEW: funky, fun and fabulous.  Anderson at his best, with a film even newbies to his work can enjoy. A+

I used to worry that I wasn’t cool enough for Wes Anderson movies.  Not enough hipster chic cred, too much of a nerdy horror geek.  And I’ll admit it, Bottle Rocket just didn’t do it for me.  (I still stand by my though that it’s a great Dude Film though.)  Then I saw The Royal Tenenbaums, and fell in love with Anderson’s quirky-but-touching style of storytelling.  Things have only been getting better and better with Anderson’s work, and though there’ve been a few inevitable bumps in the road (The Darjeeling Limited felt like a muddledtwist on Tenenbaums rather than an original piece) his latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel is his best work to date.  Charming, witty, heart-tugging and hilarious, The Grand Budapest Hotel is definitely a film for fans of the auteur, and also an enjoyable romp for folks who have feared to tread into his wondrously wacky style.

Anderson lists early 20th Century author Stefan Zweig, as an influence on Budapest’s screenplay.  All I can say is if that’s true, I’m itching to get my hands on some of Zweig’s work.  There’s a thoughtful blend of madcap adventure (echoing Muppets Most Wanted, a film that share’s Budapest’s release date here; hey, what a great double-feature!), bittersweet coming-of-age, and flat-out camp.  Anderson takes all these pieces and weaves them into an easily understood storyline that keeps filmgoers entertained throughout.

The story here is, as with most of Anderson’s films, a funky, patchwork one. But at it’s heart is a brilliant concierge named Gustav, and how he came to inherit a very famous painting from one of his female benefactors (an almost unrecognizable but hilarious Tilda Swinton).  Accusations are made, feathers get ruffled, and WWII breaks out.  All the while Gustav’s newest lobby boy, Zero (who later becomes the owner of the hotel, telling this tale in extended flashbacks) tries his best to help his mentor and woo the lovely bakery assistant Agatha.  There are cats, pastries, crossed keys, skull rings and the cologne for upstanding concierges, L’Air de Panache.  (Which of course has become a real thing, but only if you were lucky enough to attend the film’s Paris premiere.)

While Zero can be thought of as the hero of the film, Anderson gives much screen and storyline time to other characters, and this feels more like a fully-fleshed ensemble piece than a one-man show.  Rounding up the usual Anderson Film Suspects is one of the reasons why his films are a treat to watch; the cast obviously enjoys working together.  But there are many new faces to the Anderson oever here in Budapest, including Ralph Fiennes as the lady-killer (and possibly lady-killing?) concierge Gustave, Jude Law as the Young Writer to whom and older Zero tells his tale, and Saoirse Ronan as Zero’s beloved Agatha.  And yes of course, Bill Murray is part of the gang; he’s got a nice but brief turn as…well, I don’t want to spoil the fun.  And again as with Muppets Most Wanted, part of the charm of these brief cameo moments is the delight in being pleasantly surprised.

So, spritz on your best approximation of L’Air de Panache, smuggle in some pastries, and get thee to The Grand Budapest Hotel.  An hour and forty minutes hasn’t been this much fun in quite a while.  Jó étvágyat!