★★ Grand Hotel

[Gino: 2.0]

I dunno. Maybe I am being a little harsh on this Best Picture winner from 1932, but I couldn't help but think "why?" I am inclined to think that in 1932, times were troubling, and people just like to sit and watch rich folk being waited upon in a lavish hotel. Speaking of which, I notice a common thread in many of the older films I am watching lately: the ridiculous quality of service 'ordinary' weathly people used to have. Like porters brought your bags from your train car to your house. And you could just pick up the phone and say "see that a this and that is sent to my cousin in Cleveland" and that it was up to the service people to figure out where your cousin lived. If half of this is true, I am surprised that our grandparents don't complain more about how today is not like the old days. But I degress: There is some social commentary on workers rights. And it kinda has a Robert Altman feel to it, with a big cast and overlapping stories -- though no wacky football game at the end. But none of the individual stories are all that interesting. The acting is uneven among the cast. This is my first time seeing Greta Garbo. I was unimpressed -- but she was playing sort of a manic depressive primadonna, so the overacting may have been appropriate. I was also underwhelmed with John Barrymore. Only Joan Crawford made an impression, and that was that she is kinda cool and might have been good if her character/plotline had been more compelling.