California Suite (film)
Encyclopedia
California Suite is a 1978 American comedy film
directed by Herbert Ross
. The screenplay by Neil Simon
is based on his play of the same title
. Similar to his earlier Plaza Suite
, the film focuses on the dilemmas of guests staying in a suite in a luxury hotel.
workaholic
who flies to Los Angeles to retrieve her teenaged daughter Jenny after she leaves home to live with her successful screenwriter father Bill. The bickering divorced couple is forced to decide what living arrangements are best for the girl.
In Visitors from London, Diana Barrie is a British actress and a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress
, an honour that could jumpstart her faltering career, although she knows she doesn't have a chance of winning. She is in deep denial about the true nature of her marriage of convenience
to Sidney Cochran, a once-closeted
antique dealer who has become increasingly indiscreet about his sexual preference. As she prepares for her moment in the spotlight, her mood fluctuates from hope to panic to despair.
In Visitors from Philadelphia, conservative middle-aged businessman Marvin Michaels awakens to discover a prostitute named Bunny - an unexpected gift from his brother Harry - unconscious in his bed. With his wife Millie on her way up to the suite, he must find a way to conceal all traces of his uncharacteristic indiscretion.
In Visitors from Chicago, Dr. Chauncey Gump and his wife Lola and Dr. Willis Panama and his wife Bettina are taking a much-needed vacation together. Things begin to unravel quickly when everything seems to go wrong and the two men decide to settle their differences by engaging in a very competitive mixed doubles tennis
match.
at the Los Angeles Music Center
, and along Rodeo Drive
.
The California-themed paintings seen in the opening credits are by pop art
ist David Hockney
.
of the New York Times called it "the most agreeably realised Simon film in years" and added, "Here is Mr. Simon in top form, under the direction of Herbert Ross, one of the few directors . . . who can cope with the particular demands of material that simultaneously means to be touching and so nonstop clever one sometimes wants to gag him. It all works in California Suite, not only because the material is superior Simon, but also because the writer and the director have assembled a dream cast."
Variety
observed, "Neil Simon and Herbert Ross have gambled in radically altering the successful format of California Suite as it appeared on stage. Instead of four separate playlets, there is now one semi-cohesive narrative revolving around visitors to the Beverly Hills Hotel . . . The technique is less than successful, veering from poignant emotionalism to broad slapstick in sudden shifts."
Time Out New York described the film as "quick and varied comedy, highly suited to Neil Simon's machine-gun gag-writing" and added, "Fonda provides the film with its centre, giving another performance of unnerving sureness. Also on the credit side is a bedroom farce of epic proportions from Matthau and May. The other vignettes are a bit glum."
Channel 4
said, "It's an expertly crafted slick movie that sets up each of its coconuts and knocks them over with a sure eye, but ultimately it's emotional sushi
rather than satisfying catharsis
."
, the Evening Standard
British Film Award for Best Actress, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
, and tied with Ellen Burstyn
in Same Time, Next Year
for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
but lost to Jane Fonda in The China Syndrome
.
Neil Simon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
but lost to Oliver Stone
for Midnight Express
. He also was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
.
Albert Brenner
and Marvin March
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
but lost to Paul Sylbert
, Edwin O'Donovan
, and George Gaines
for Heaven Can Wait
.
Jane Fonda received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
in honour of her performances in California Suite, Comes a Horseman
, and Coming Home.
format with audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. There are no bonus features.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross
Herbert Ross was an American film director, producer, choreographer and actor.-Early life and career:Born Herbert David Ross in Brooklyn, New York, he made his stage debut as Third Witch with a touring company of Macbeth in 1942...
. The screenplay by Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
is based on his play of the same title
California Suite
California Suite is a 1976 play by Neil Simon. Similar in structure to his earlier Plaza Suite, the comedy is composed of four playlets set in Suite 203-04, which consists of a living room and an adjoining bedroom with an ensuite bath, in The Beverly Hills Hotel.-Plot:In Visitor from New York,...
. Similar to his earlier Plaza Suite
Plaza Suite
Plaza Suite is a comedy play by Neil Simon.-Plot:The play is composed of three acts, each involving different characters but all set in Suite 719 of New York City's Plaza Hotel...
, the film focuses on the dilemmas of guests staying in a suite in a luxury hotel.
Plot
In Visitors from New York, Hannah Warren is a ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
workaholic
Workaholic
A workaholic is a person who is addicted to work.The term generally implies that the person enjoys their work; it can also imply that they simply feel compelled to do it...
who flies to Los Angeles to retrieve her teenaged daughter Jenny after she leaves home to live with her successful screenwriter father Bill. The bickering divorced couple is forced to decide what living arrangements are best for the girl.
In Visitors from London, Diana Barrie is a British actress and a first-time nominee for the Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
, an honour that could jumpstart her faltering career, although she knows she doesn't have a chance of winning. She is in deep denial about the true nature of her marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
to Sidney Cochran, a once-closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
antique dealer who has become increasingly indiscreet about his sexual preference. As she prepares for her moment in the spotlight, her mood fluctuates from hope to panic to despair.
In Visitors from Philadelphia, conservative middle-aged businessman Marvin Michaels awakens to discover a prostitute named Bunny - an unexpected gift from his brother Harry - unconscious in his bed. With his wife Millie on her way up to the suite, he must find a way to conceal all traces of his uncharacteristic indiscretion.
In Visitors from Chicago, Dr. Chauncey Gump and his wife Lola and Dr. Willis Panama and his wife Bettina are taking a much-needed vacation together. Things begin to unravel quickly when everything seems to go wrong and the two men decide to settle their differences by engaging in a very competitive mixed doubles tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
match.
Production
The film was shot on location at The Beverly Hills Hotel, the Dorothy Chandler PavilionDorothy Chandler Pavilion
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center . The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt Disney Concert Hall.The Pavilion has 3,197 seats spread over four tiers, with chandeliers, wide curving stairways and rich décor...
at the Los Angeles Music Center
Los Angeles Music Center
The Music Center is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the nation. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Music Center is home to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, and along Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive of Beverly Hills, California is a shopping district known for designer label and haute couture fashion. The name generally refers to a three-block long stretch of boutiques and shops but the street stretches further north and south....
.
The California-themed paintings seen in the opening credits are by pop art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
ist David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
.
Cast
- Jane FondaJane FondaJane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
..... Hannah Warren - Alan AldaAlan AldaAlphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo , better known as Alan Alda, is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H...
..... Bill Warren - Maggie SmithMaggie SmithDame Margaret Natalie Smith, DBE , better known as Maggie Smith, is an English film, stage, and television actress who made her stage debut in 1952 and is still performing after 59 years...
..... Diana Barrie (*Winner Academy Award) - Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
..... Sidney Cochran - Walter MatthauWalter MatthauWalter Matthau was an American actor best known for his role as Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple and his frequent collaborations with Odd Couple star Jack Lemmon, as well as his role as Coach Buttermaker in the 1976 comedy The Bad News Bears...
..... Marvin Michaels - Elaine MayElaine MayElaine May is an American film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame in the 1950s from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols...
..... Millie Michaels - Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
..... Harry Michaels - Denise GalikDenise GalikDenise Galik-Furey is an American actress who has starred on television and in film.-Career:Born in in Cleveland, Ohio, Galik has starred in television on soap operas, daytime and night time soaps. Her first soap opera role was in the 1980s CBS soap Knots Landing as Linda Stricker from 1980 to 1981...
..... Bunny - Richard PryorRichard PryorRichard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian, actor, social critic, writer and MC. Pryor was known for uncompromising examinations of racism and topical contemporary issues, which employed colorful vulgarities, and profanity, as well as racial epithets...
..... Dr. Chauncey Gump - Bill CosbyBill CosbyWilliam Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
..... Dr. Willis Panama - Gloria GiffordGloria GiffordGloria Gifford is an American actress who has starred in films and on television.Gloria's first feature film was in the 1978 film California Suite, it was not until later she became to be best known among horror film fans for her role as the head nurse, Mrs...
..... Lola Gump - Sheila Frazier ..... Bettina Panama
- Dana PlatoDana PlatoDana Michelle Plato was an American actress notable for playing the role of Kimberly Drummond in the U.S. television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.Plato appeared in over 100 television commercials as a young girl...
..... Jenny Warren
Critical reception
Vincent CanbyVincent Canby
Vincent Canby was an American film critic who became the chief film critic for The New York Times in 1969 and reviewed more than 1000 films during his tenure there.-Life and career:...
of the New York Times called it "the most agreeably realised Simon film in years" and added, "Here is Mr. Simon in top form, under the direction of Herbert Ross, one of the few directors . . . who can cope with the particular demands of material that simultaneously means to be touching and so nonstop clever one sometimes wants to gag him. It all works in California Suite, not only because the material is superior Simon, but also because the writer and the director have assembled a dream cast."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
observed, "Neil Simon and Herbert Ross have gambled in radically altering the successful format of California Suite as it appeared on stage. Instead of four separate playlets, there is now one semi-cohesive narrative revolving around visitors to the Beverly Hills Hotel . . . The technique is less than successful, veering from poignant emotionalism to broad slapstick in sudden shifts."
Time Out New York described the film as "quick and varied comedy, highly suited to Neil Simon's machine-gun gag-writing" and added, "Fonda provides the film with its centre, giving another performance of unnerving sureness. Also on the credit side is a bedroom farce of epic proportions from Matthau and May. The other vignettes are a bit glum."
Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
said, "It's an expertly crafted slick movie that sets up each of its coconuts and knocks them over with a sure eye, but ultimately it's emotional sushi
Sushi
is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...
rather than satisfying catharsis
Catharsis
Catharsis or katharsis is a Greek word meaning "cleansing" or "purging". It is derived from the verb καθαίρειν, kathairein, "to purify, purge," and it is related to the adjective καθαρός, katharos, "pure or clean."-Dramatic uses:...
."
Awards and nominations
For her portrayal of an Oscar nominee, Maggie Smith won the Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
British Film Award for Best Actress, the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*...
, and tied with Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn is a leading American actress of film, stage, and television. Burstyn's career began in theatre during the late 1950s, and over the next ten years she appeared in several films and television series before joining the Actors Studio in 1967...
in Same Time, Next Year
Same Time, Next Year (film)
Same Time, Next Year is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Robert Mulligan. The screenplay by Bernard Slade is based on his 1975 play of the same title.-Plot synopsis:...
for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...
but lost to Jane Fonda in The China Syndrome
The China Syndrome
The China Syndrome is a 1979 American thriller film that tells the story of a reporter and cameraman who discover safety coverups at a nuclear power plant. It stars Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, Michael Douglas, Scott Brady, James Hampton, Peter Donat, Richard Herd, and Wilford Brimley.The film was...
.
Neil Simon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
but lost to Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
for Midnight Express
Midnight Express (film)
Released on October 6, 1978, the soundtrack to Midnight Express was composed by Italian synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score of 1978.Side A:#Chase – Giorgio Moroder...
. He also was nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is one of the three screenwriting Writers Guild of America Awards, one that is specifically for film...
.
Albert Brenner
Albert Brenner
Albert Brenner is an American production designer and art director. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
and Marvin March
Marvin March
Marvin March is an American set decorator. He has been nominated for five Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:March has been nominated for five Academy Awards for Best Art Direction:* Addams Family Values...
were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
but lost to Paul Sylbert
Paul Sylbert
Paul Sylbert is an American Academy Award-winning production designer, art director, and set designer who directed on occasion....
, Edwin O'Donovan
Edwin O'Donovan
Edwin O'Donovan was an American art director. He won an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Heaven Can Wait.-External links:...
, and George Gaines
George Gaines (set decorator)
George Gaines was an American set decorator. He won two Academy Awards and was nominated for another two in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:...
for Heaven Can Wait
Heaven Can Wait (1978 film)
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American comedy film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry. It is the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's stageplay of the same name, preceded by Here Comes Mr. Jordan and followed by Down to Earth...
.
Jane Fonda received the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...
in honour of her performances in California Suite, Comes a Horseman
Comes a Horseman
Comes a Horseman is a 1978 film starring James Caan, Jane Fonda, Jason Robards, and Richard Farnsworth.The movie, set in the American West of the 1940s, tells the story of two ranchers whose small operation is threatened both by economic hardship and the expansionist dreams of a local land baron...
, and Coming Home.
DVD release
The film was released on DVD on Region 1 DVD on January 2, 2002. It is in anamorphic widescreenAnamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
format with audio tracks in English and French and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, and Thai. There are no bonus features.