The Hotel New Hampshire

On its original release, there was anything but a critical consensus on this adaptation of John Irving's expansive novel about the trials and tribulations of the dysfunctional Berry family. Many blamed the book for the film's episodic structure and the sensationalist nature of the fates that befall the central characters. Others praised writer/director Tony Richardson (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Tom Jones) for the fidelity of his approach. Led by Rob Lowe, Jodie Foster and Beau Bridges (as the family patriarch), the cast does its best, although the characters are not very endearing, particularly Nastassja Kinski's Susie, who regularly retreats into a bear suit to calm her nerves. David Watkin's photography is a bonus, however.