It’s one of those big unanswered questions:
Where will you go on your Honeymoon after the end of the world?
To be fair, it wasn’t quite the end of the world. A series of deadly bomb attacks flooded England with poison gas. Most of the people died, or are stuck going around wearing gasmasks all the time.
But the staff of the Fitzroy hotel got lucky and took over an abandoned submarine. It is pressurized, so the air inside is clean.
Well, as clean as the air in a sealed sub is likely to get.
And the submarine has now been turned into hotel, which is mostly home to a set of permanent residents, who have to pay rent for the privilege of living in its cramped and leaky confines. This rent is assessed in commodities, like tea, for the most part, although former Diva, Sonya has worked out, shall we say, alternative payments in services instead.
The only thing keeping this rustbucket afloat is Bernard, the hotel’s official bell boy, mechanic, maintenance man, and general dogsbody.
The problem is that he is hopelessly in love with Sonya. And she wants him to help her take over the hotel.
But it won’t be easy because the local health inspector is onboard. And he has plans of his own.
Now if you’ve had a steady diet of British comedies, then you should feel right at home on The Fitzroy. The hotel is home to a weird collection of characters, all of whom have their own weird collection of obsessions, like the guy who wakes them up every morning yelling, “Doom, Doom!”, or the ship’s doctor who has a far too unhealthy obsession with dead bodies, the former army Captain with the pet chicken, the Bird Lady who replaces her deceased Budgie with a rat with feathers glued to it, the band members sharing one room who play constantly throughout the film (providing its score), and, of course, the guy with the cymbals who is frustrated that nobody ever lets him play them.
The Fitzroy is a goofy, convoluted comedy thriller about murder, scheming, betrayal, music, and, of course, being true to yourself in the end. The collection of oddballs in the hotel constantly fight over tiny wrongs and nearly meaningless privileges, then spend most of their time complaining about things while expecting Bernard to fix everything.
Oh, and there’s a talent show.
Without much talent on display, naturally.
It’s all lovingly strange, with beautifully realized sets, and wild, madcap action scenes crammed into the tiny spaces inside the hotel. There’s even a mildly ironic ending.
But don’t worry, I’m sure Bernard will sort it all out.
More than anything else, it reminds me of some of the great British comedies I’ve seen, with a boatload of talented actors who are allowed to be absurd and a solid, put-upon performance from Cerith Flinn as Bernard. Supposedly their model was the classic Ealing Studios comedies. I’m not sure they quite made it to that level, but then, they don’t have Alec Guiness, Terry-Thomas or Dennis Price, either.
However, it is also hard to miss the resemblance to Jeunet et Caro (particularly Delicatessen), or, if you squint a bit, Wes Anderson (particularly if you are looking at that quirky animated title sequence which explains the destruction of Great Britain at the beginning).
While The Fitzroy isn’t perfect, it is thoroughly weird fun, and definitely worth a look if you love eccentric British comedies and alternate history films.
Or is it supposed to be set in the modern world, despite its retro look?
I don’t suppose it really matters…
rivets on the poster 