28 Hotel Rooms

One thing I love about Hulu is it’s movie suggestions. I swear, it knows me. Thanks to technology, it probably does. Anyways, listed under ‘Movies for you’, I kept seeing the title to this movie. It sounds familiar and I think that somewhere, I must have seen that someone posted about it or maybe I read something, because I knew the premise was a couple meets in different hotels rooms. But, being that I wasn’t wanting to watch porn, I would skip past it. Yet, Hulu knows me so surely it wouldn’t be suggesting porn, right?

Each time I go to Hulu, I see the movie listed and since I have exhausted the majority of movies, I looked up the premise on Wikipedia… “A novelist and a corporate accountant conduct an affair over a period of several years, meeting only when they are each traveling for work in a city far from their homes. The film takes a minimalist approach: it consists entirely of scenes between the two of them in hotel rooms.” So, could still be porn… Let’s find the trailer…

That’s it, I’m watching! They had me when he was painting her toes and when she was emotional saying that she feels ugly… I’m a sap when movies feel genuinely real.

I immediately recognized Danny Castellano, I mean Chris Messina, from The Mindy Project. He played Mindy Kaling’s love interest and I LOVED him! I hadn’t heard of Marin Ireland, but based upon her Wikipedia page, she has done quite a bit, which is probably why she looks familiar. Plus, she is from Central California and I’m a sucker for anyone from there (Camarillo to be exact).

28 Hotel Rooms is a movie I could probably analyze with such a wide array of elements. My ideal situation would be the conversation that would happen after another person watches, because I think it is one of those movies that opinions can vary, even your own, based upon how you feel at the time or what your mindset is. But, on to my own personal review…

The camera gives off the feeling that it is another character that they are not aware of. The chemistry between these two characters is undeniable and their conversations feel real, as if they are unscripted. He caresses her back while they lay in bed talking, sensing the intimacy as he taps her lower back in response to a question, as if to say, “Alright”.

As in all new loves, he plays the 21 questions with her asking about siblings, parents, republican or democrat, chocolate or vanilla ice cream… But, you start to notice, she does not reciprocate. Yet, she is the one that when a future is discussed, you can sense that she is toying with that idea in her head, only to snap back to reality and change the topic. She does this enough times that you realize that she does struggle with what she is doing, whether it is by quietly crying in the bathroom while he is sleeping, or seeing how hot she can get the bath water, as if in punishment.

These two separate their worlds and only briefly allow their real one in, as they catch up on months apart. They give off brief descriptions, like a highlight reel. But yet, you are able to perceive that these two have long conversations about life and discuss things that maybe they do not with their respective partners. With each other, they are free to be whom they want ~ fun, exciting, erotic… It is presented as being tipsy and dancing naked on a balcony, sneaking up to the rooftop of a hotel to watch fireworks, running the hallways laughing… Something that their real lives would not allow as they pay their mortgage, move from the city, try to get ahead in their careers…

As romantic and whimsical as they make it seem, they also fight. They fight with the intensity that you may not allow yourself to with your real life partner for fear of the judgement or possible alienation. These two know that at any moment, they can get up and walk away, without any damage to a marriage.

Yet, they are drawn to each other, unable to stay away. Why is that? Is it true love or could it just be that the brief interludes give them a sense of excitement to an otherwise boring life?

28 Hotel Rooms is a movie that is worth watching again and again. You will create your own back stories for them, as you are only able to see brief snippets of their encounters. In your mind, you will sense the passage of time and gain an understanding of their intimacy with each other. When the end credits begin, you will want more of their story.