Heartbreak Hotel
Heartbreak Hotel
| 07 October 2006 (USA)
Heartbreak Hotel Trailers

Elisabeth and Gudrun are two Swedish divorcées, both over 40, who meet when Elisabeth parks her car on a loading zone and is ticketed by Gudrun. Despite this shaky start, a friendship grows between the two. Elizabeth, a gynecologist, is sexy and confident. She leads the shy Gudrun through the dangerous waters of single life. But as they cavort through the dance floors and bars of Stockholm's nightlife they are led to a deeper examination of the relationships with men.

Reviews
Claudio Carvalho

In Stockholm, the gynecologist Elisabeth "Lisa" Staf (Helena Bergström) receives a ticket from the car-park attendant Gudrun Nyman (Maria Lundqvist) when she parks her car in a forbidden place. Lisa justifies telling that she is going to the wedding of her son and she is late; however Gudrun does not accept the excuse and they offend each other. In the dinner party, Elisabeth's husband tells to the guests that they are divorcing.Gudrun is a shy widow that stays at home, and her daughter Liselotte (Erica Braun) convinces her to go to her gynecologist; surprisingly she is Lisa and they become friends. Lisa is independent and likes to dance and the nightlife, and she convinces Gudrun to go out with her to the Heartbreak Hotel to drink and dance. When Gudrun meets her former husband Åke Nyman (Claes Månsson), the relationship between the two women is affected."Heartbreak Hotel" is a silly but entertaining Swedish comedy about the friendship of two forty and something year-old women with different temperaments. The plot is a kind of combination between "Sex and the City" with "Thelma & Louise" and the result is a pleasant comedy. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "A Vida Começa aos 40" ("The Life Begins at 40")

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Niklas Pivic

I've seldom seen anything as ill-directed and ill-writ as this veritable swarm of locusts. The script serves as an age-biased loaf of stale bitterness regarding ageism, to which any dodgy Benny Hill-script seems vital and fresh; the characters are archetypical in the worst sense of the word, the story never brings anything interesting or lucid to the screen, and there are more chances of you being hit by lightning while reading this than there are comedic lines found in this vapid, turgid and fake implausibility; collect a billion monkeys, tie them to typewriters and I shall pay you 1000 US Dollars if even one of them should come up with anything less comprehensible. Even the soundtrack is horrid. All in all, a waste of time that should serve to never let Colin Nutley direct again; sadly, he does just that over and over.

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sartor023

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this film. Great acting and writing and directing! All of the characters were well fleshed out, and fun to 'live' with on screen. Moving and touching at times, and funny and good witted at others.. It's such a treat to see what's happening in other countries film wise! I tend to think Hollywood no longer has the last word on film anymore! Many other writers/directors/actors in many other countries are constantly coming out with engaging and fun movies! I so enjoy to see other parts of the world and their homes and culture... Great film making!

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torgust-1

Colin Nutley is back with a film that finds a big audience. I think maybe it's his best film since his big success Änglagård. Many (divorced) middle-age women will surely love the film. Anyway they did in the audience I watched the film in. Marie Lundqvist is as usual a magnificent actor. She can act any feeling in a very convincing way and her appearance makes you somewhat forget the obvious weaknesses in the script. On the whole the acting is god and the scenes seems to be improvised in usual Colin Nutley - manner. This makes most scenes very authentic if often surrealistic.The film makes you laugh at a lot of funny and embarrassing situations, but offers little but confusion about how to handle your life likewise with the people in the film. It's just quite good entertainment for the moment. Women and sisterhood is at the center of the film. Men don't get much credit and Nutley also takes the opportunity to make a friendly? attack on the film icon Ingmar Bergman.

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