Das verliebte Hotel: A quaint mess of an inheritance

Is it worth the screen time?

If you like old-fashioned, breezy comedies where people stumble into wealth and spend the rest of the runtime fixing their ties, then sure, go for it. If you’re looking for something that makes sense or has a plot that doesn't just evaporate halfway through, stay far away. This is for the rainy Sunday crowd, the ones who don't mind a bit of fluff.

Hanna’s story starts in that familiar place of pure, exhausting poverty. It’s the kind of "life is hard" trope that feels like a fairy tale rather than a real struggle. Then, *poof*, she gets the hotel. You can almost hear the gears of the script shifting into 'Rom-Com Mode' the moment she walks through the front door. 🏨

The acting is... a choice. Erika Glässner carries the weight of the film, but sometimes she looks like she’s just waiting for the craft services table to open up. There’s a specific scene in the lobby where the lighting goes completely flat for about three minutes. It’s distracting, really. It makes you wonder if they just ran out of lamps that day.

I found myself comparing the pacing to stuff like Tartuffe, but that might be unfair. This isn't trying to be high art. It’s trying to be a distraction. It succeeds at that, mostly because the chemistry between the leads is just... fine. It’s polite. It’s like watching two people agree on what to have for lunch.

Small observations from the back row:

• There’s a background extra in the third scene who clearly forgot his lines and just stares at a potted plant for way too long.
• The hotel decor is absolutely wild. I’d stay there, but I’d be worried about the wallpaper peeling off in my sleep.
• Max Schreck shows up, and you’re just waiting for him to do something menacing, but he’s just… a guy in a hotel.

The movie gets noticeably better once it stops trying to explain the financial logic of the inheritance. Who cares about the money? Just show me more of the lobby bickering. That’s where the actual pulse of the movie lives.

It reminds me a bit of the frantic energy in The Untamed Lady, but without the teeth. Sometimes the movie drags its feet, especially during those long, silent walks through the hallways. I swear the camera operator fell asleep during one tracking shot.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a disaster? Also no. It’s just a movie that exists in a very specific, slightly beige pocket of history. You’ll watch it, you’ll chuckle once or twice, and then you’ll probably forget the name of the main character by the time the credits roll. 🎞️