Less shabby-chic, more chic-hole, the eponymous motel is home to an assortment of losers drawn to Niagara for anything but the view.
Permanently drunk hotel manager Phillie (Craig Ferguson. Annoying.) uses whiskey to hide the pain of losing his wife. Recovering addict Denise (Anna Friel in a very impressively layered performance) wants her baby back. A middle-aged couple argue a bit. Groundbreaking, I'm sure.
Well-worn as the story may be, it is rescued by some delightful performances. Friel is a revelation, but it's Canadian beauty Dhavernas who really shines as a naïve waitress on the verge of becoming a low-budget 'adult star'.
Never quite as 'darkly comic' or 'genuinely tragic' as it thinks it is, Niagara Motel is the film Todd Solondz would make had he been more popular at school.
Permanently drunk hotel manager Phillie (Craig Ferguson. Annoying.) uses whiskey to hide the pain of losing his wife. Recovering addict Denise (Anna Friel in a very impressively layered performance) wants her baby back. A middle-aged couple argue a bit. Groundbreaking, I'm sure.
Well-worn as the story may be, it is rescued by some delightful performances. Friel is a revelation, but it's Canadian beauty Dhavernas who really shines as a naïve waitress on the verge of becoming a low-budget 'adult star'.
Never quite as 'darkly comic' or 'genuinely tragic' as it thinks it is, Niagara Motel is the film Todd Solondz would make had he been more popular at school.