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7.5/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 7.5/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Eine Nacht im Grandhotel remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old-school musical comedies where everyone is dressed better than they have any right to be, you’ll probably get a kick out of this. It’s light as air, but it moves with this specific kind of frantic energy that I find kind of endearing.
If you need your movies to be grounded in reality or have a plot that makes actual sense, stay far away. You’ll be pulling your hair out by the time Fritz starts signing checks he cannot possibly cover.
The whole thing is basically one long, drawn-out lie. Fritz meets Glay, falls hard, and immediately decides the best way to win her heart is to pretend he owns the place. It’s a classic setup, like something you’d find in The City Chap, but with way more champagne.
Watching him bumble through the hotel lobby is actually kind of painful. You can see the panic in his eyes every time a waiter walks by. It’s not exactly Mortal Clay levels of drama, but the tension is real enough if you care about bank accounts.
It’s not trying to change the world. It’s just trying to get through the night without the manager calling the cops. I think we’ve all been there, minus the royal suite part.
The pacing is a bit all over the place. Sometimes it’s snappy, other times it drags like a wet coat. But there’s a charm to it that feels weirdly honest 🥂. Just don't look too closely at the math behind the bills.