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California Suite is the 1978 film adaptation of Neil Simons' quartet of one-acts set at a 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. Caine 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 ran 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.
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. Caine 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 ran 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.