It was a frustrating experience (been having a lot of those lately). There was a lot to like, but I felt that it would have played better in small chunks than a single whole. Now, if Anderson decided to get all experimental with online technology and released this as a series of webisodes, I probably would have liked it a lot more. I thought some of the cinematography was great, some of the music (selected from Indian films) was excellent, and I liked some of the quirkiness. Sadly, I just could not get into the overall story, and the whole luggage thing, ugh.

I believe that Anderson is talented, but like other talent on the slide (I'm looking at you M. Night Shyamalan), I think he needs to find collaborators and not enablers. I feel he is surrounding himself with like minds who won't speak up, or don't know to speak up, when something doesn't work. It will be interesting to see what the future holds.

This weekend the prequel short, The Hotel Chevalier, was added onto the feature. It was previously only available on iTunes. The thirteen minute short features a hotel encounter between Schwartzman's Jack and an ex-girlfriend, played by Natalie Portman. I sat through this and wondered just what I was supposed to get out of it. Jack's personal tics? His odd relationship with his ex? I found it to be more of a bore. The short was just sort of there, notable only for the Natalie Portman "nude scene." I was glad when the short was over and we could move on to the feature. 

Bottomline. I wanted to like this film, and I did in fits and spurts. Break it down into smaller chunks (minus Hotel Chevalier) and I think it would be much easier to like. Some lines, situations, and performances are good, but taken as a whole and the journey is not really worth taking.

Mildly Recommended.