The Grand Budapest Hotel Review

Grade: B+

One-Liner: You'll laugh, you'll gasp, you'll draw in a pencil mustache!

Wes Anderson truly out-Wes Anderson'd himself in his latest fantastical escapade — The Grand Budapest Hotel. The king of the quirky spared no expense (except, perhaps, the hotel's actual rose-colored exterior) making his version of a fast-paced thrill ride to excite the senses and amuse your inner child.

In many ways, this latest attempt was Anderson's return to the world of "grown-up" filmmaking. Compared to 2009's Fantastic Mr. Fox and 2012's Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel was appallingly gory and the amount of swearing had me looking around horrified for the children, who had likely inhabited the audiences of Anderson's recent films. At times, it felt as if Quentin Tarantino's distant cousin had teamed up with the narrator to offer sprinkles of shock and awe to Anderson's buoyant storytelling.

However, upon shaking off those disquieting moments, the highly-anticipated film proved a delectable bite in the cake of the eccentric director's career. Anderson found a winning team in Ralph Fiennes and and relative newcomer Tony Revolori, who played charm-packed concierge M. Gustave and his lobby boy Zero. Fiennes couldn't have possibly ventured further away from his villainous image, even if he had thrown glitter through the air and flourished a rhythmic gymnastics ribbon. And Revolori effortlessly placed himself as the missing piece in Anderson's celeb-packed puzzle.

The new leads were refreshing, but the old ones stayed close by with Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Ed Norton, and Tilda Swinton all making fairly brief appearances. Anderson happily brought in noteworthy stars like Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, and Adrien Brody only to abruptly cut them in favor of focusing on the Scottish brogue of Saoirse Ronan and the intimidating mug of Willem Dafoe.

And as colorful as the cast was, it was nothing compared to the vibrant set and world in which Anderson set his adventure. Each character came equipped with an abundance of accessories from offensively fragrant perfume to face-covering birth marks. Every detail was accounted for, except those that normally matter in a film, such as real locations and factual events in history.

As much as Anderson succeeded in making an outlandish and divine tall tale, he also managed to throw in some deeper lessons. With nods to childhood nostalgia and the importance of keeping history alive, the writer and director managed to teach a few lessons without even a trace of condescension or pretension.

As always, sir, it was a pleasure falling into the allure of your kaleidoscopic world. Until next time.