Four Rooms (1995)

14% of critics liked it
(43 reviews)
70% of users liked it
(52,744 ratings)

Four of the most celebrated directors in the independent film community pooled their talents for this episodic comedy. Ted (Tim Roth) is the new bellboy at a beautiful but decaying luxury hotel; he is not having a good time of it on New Year's Eve, his first night on the job. In one room, a coven of… More Four of the most celebrated directors in the independent film community pooled their talents for this episodic comedy. Ted (Tim Roth) is the new bellboy at a beautiful but decaying luxury hotel; he is not having a good time of it on New Year's Eve, his first night on the job. In one room, a coven of witches are trying to summon the spirit of the goddess Diana; each of the witches must bring a different bodily fluid for their spell to work, but Eva (Ione Skye), who was supposed to bring semen, managed to lose her supplies, and needs Ted's help for a last-minute replacement. Another room, where Ted was supposed to deliver some ice, turns out to house an angry husband (David Proval), who is holding his bound-and-gagged wife (Jennifer Beals) at gunpoint. A third room is taken by a tough-talking gangster (Antonio Banderas), his doormat wife (Tamlyn Tomita), and their two children; the gangster demands that Ted watch over the kids, who turn out to be mischievous terrors beyond Ted's wildest imagination. And room number four is where an arrogant film actor (Quentin Tarantino) is holding a party. One of his guests makes a bet that he can get a Zippo lighter to light ten times in a row, with his finger at stake if he loses. Allison Anders directed the first segment, which also featured Madonna, Valeria Golino, and Lili Taylor. The second segment was directed by Alexandre Rockwell, husband of his frequent leading lady Jennifer Beals. Robert Rodriguez directed the third story, while the finale was directed by its star, Quentin Tarantino; the final segment also features Bruce Willis, who appeared unbilled. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 42 min.
Directed By: Alexandre Rockwell, Quentin Tarantino
Written By: Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
Genres: Comedy

In Theaters: Dec 26, 1996 Wide
On DVD: Apr 20, 1999
Studio: Miramax Films

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
The results are mainly awful, and even Roth got saddled with a mannered part that he can't comfortably play.
Emanuel Levy, Variety
Four of the hottest indie directors--Anders, Rockwell, Tarantino, and Rodrigues--miss a unique opportunity to display their idiosyncratic talents resulting in a tedious anthology in which 2 segments are inept, one barely decent, and one OK (guess whose)
Janet Maslin, New York Times
The less said about this career-denting fiasco, the better.
Jack Mathews, Los Angeles Times
Sounds better than it is.
Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Four Rooms asserts itself as a goof so laboriously and aggressively that you almost feel pinned back in your seat.
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
The result is a batch of shrill, self-indulgent sketches that turn so wretched in spots you start to wonder if the filmmakers wanted them to be bad.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Begins with two awful segments, which you'll want to fast-forward past to get to the third and fourth segments.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A ghastly train wreck of a movie, littered with the corpses of promising careers.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
O episódio dirigido por Taratino, que funciona como uma grande preparação para uma excelente tirada final, é memorável. Pena que temos que assistir a uma hora de besteiras para chegar até ele.
, Time Out
They should have called this One Room and released it as a Rodriguez short.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
The final tale is a real treat; too bad you have to wade through such awfulness just to get there.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Worth it for the Rodriguez' episode, but otherwise nothing much.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Manu G

Twelve outrageous guests. Four scandalous requests. And one lone bellhop, in his first day on the job, who's in for the wildest New year's Eve of his life. Good movie! I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with this film. With Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino… More
Twelve outrageous guests. Four scandalous requests. And one lone bellhop, in his first day on the job, who's in for the wildest New year's Eve of his life. Good movie! I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with this film. With Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino working on this film, you seem to expect a trigger-happy film festival with plenty of bombs and explosives to spare. But what the final product turns out to be is a laugh-out-loud comedy which follows a bellhop's mishaps one night as he scrambles to keep his hotel in order. Tim Roth is always a great performer and in this movie there is no difference. Rent it if your curious or bored, but don't buy it expecting it to be like other Tarantino films. Not bad, not great, just average. This movie features the collaborative directorial efforts of four new filmmakers, each of whom directs a segment of this comedy. It's New Year's Eve at the Mon Signor Hotel, a former grand old Hollywood hotel, now fallen upon hard times. Often using physical comedy and sight gags, this movie chronicles the slapstick misadventures of Ted, the Bellhop. He's on his first night on the job, when he's asked to help out a coven of witches in the Honeymoon Suite. Things only get worse when he delivers ice to the wrong room and ends up in a domestic argument at a really bad time. Next, he foolishly agrees to watch a gangster's kids for him while he's away. Finally, he finishes off the night refereeing a ghastly wager.
Graham J

Okay, so fast forward through the first two rooms and this is a decent little short by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Beals, Bruce Willis, Paul Calderon, Madonna, Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Alicia Witt Director: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell Summary: One mad New Year's Eve,… More
Cast: Tim Roth, Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Beals, Bruce Willis, Paul Calderon, Madonna, Marisa Tomei, Quentin Tarantino, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Alicia Witt Director: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Allison Anders, Alexandre Rockwell Summary: One mad New Year's Eve, an overwhelmed bellboy (Tim Roth) copes with witches and diabolical children, gets caught in the middle of a sour relationship and settles a bloody bet for members of a superstar's entourage. My Thoughts: "Tim Roth was fantastic in this film. The movie and the acting is so off the wall crazy and fun. There's not a dull moment in this film. Tim Roth was so funny in the movie, never seen him play such a fantastically funny person. The stories are so very different but all very crazy and unique. I really enjoyed the craziness unravel. Great funny flick to watch on a slow moving day."
Martin S

The first room was one bag full of crap. That room alone deserves 1 star. The next room is better but it's still no slobberknocker. Then we bring in the pros. Obvious differens in quality. Even though Tarantino is thinking outside the box and doing a different thing then what we… More
The first room was one bag full of crap. That room alone deserves 1 star. The next room is better but it's still no slobberknocker. Then we bring in the pros. Obvious differens in quality. Even though Tarantino is thinking outside the box and doing a different thing then what we are use to...I think Rodriguez won this battle. Most impressive thing about the whole movie is definitely Antonio Banderas. Very cool guy.
Thomas J

This is a fun movie with 4 interesting stories with 4 directors bring fresh ideas to film making! Fun, fun, fun!
Lady D

The concept of this film is quirky and works well with the short stories, however it does start off a little too quirky for me and found myself irrated by Tim Roth?s character. The second half seemed to get better, but Tarantino himself didn?t help matters by playing what seemed his… More
The concept of this film is quirky and works well with the short stories, however it does start off a little too quirky for me and found myself irrated by Tim Roth?s character. The second half seemed to get better, but Tarantino himself didn?t help matters by playing what seemed his longest role to date in a very Quentin kind of way (love the films, not the acting QT!). Watchable-ish, but not recommendable.
Film C

Well About ths film, i found it weird but hilarious! ive probably never watched such a pointlessly weird film but for the laughs its justso worth t! its hilarious! Tim Roth is excellant in this movie and is so fit, anyway its brilliant acted especially by tim roth and he is a… More
Well About ths film, i found it weird but hilarious! ive probably never watched such a pointlessly weird film but for the laughs its justso worth t! its hilarious! Tim Roth is excellant in this movie and is so fit, anyway its brilliant acted especially by tim roth and he is a funny character! the film is about four rooms with four different eccenric characters tht just makes this bellboys life a misery and a hard day!its jut a series of events some weirdly funn and the bellboy trying to cope with it all. Clearly here isntmuch to the storyline at all, but ifyou need a laugh then this is the movie for you!
Leigh R

Poor Ted... what a freak show.
Summer W

The first "room" leaves a bit to be desired, but after that hilarity ensues.
Megan S

The 2nd segment was really slow and boring and dumb. The first one was amusing. The third one was pretty awesome and I think it was the best.
Curtis L

This movie is set up into four segements by four directors. The first two BLOW. The third (robert rodriquez) is pretty entertaining, and the fourth (quentin tarantino) is great. Who doesn't want to see a guy get his finger chopped off? Major minus points for the first two,… More
This movie is set up into four segements by four directors. The first two BLOW. The third (robert rodriquez) is pretty entertaining, and the fourth (quentin tarantino) is great. Who doesn't want to see a guy get his finger chopped off? Major minus points for the first two, however.
Candy R

This is a weird one about a hotel and all its goings-on.
Ross C

A silly comedy split into four scenes, each with separate directors, that are the four rooms of the title with Tim Roth, a hapless bell-boy, providing the common-link. The second two scenes, directed by Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino respectively, work best.
Wildaly M

Four comic stories some better than others.
danny d

what a terrible movie. this is 90 minutes that i will never get back. what a waste of time. this is a film about 4 rooms in a hotel where different scenes take place. the common character is the bell boy and he expiriences each room. each stupid, pointless, unrealistic and… More
what a terrible movie. this is 90 minutes that i will never get back. what a waste of time. this is a film about 4 rooms in a hotel where different scenes take place. the common character is the bell boy and he expiriences each room. each stupid, pointless, unrealistic and rediculous room. 4 directors worked on this film, one for each room. the only reason that im giving this movie 1 star instead of a half of a star is because one of the rooms, the one directed by robert rodriquez, had a little boy in it that was really funny. he provides a few funny moments to a very pointless film. i had many people recommend this film to me, and all it did was prove to me that quintin tarantino is very overrated.
Jason S

Funny! Four directors do this one. Each one takes on the story of a different room and you get to see that the styles are completely different.
Michael G

The Rodriguez segment alone is worth watching.
Professor W

A very underrated movie. I found it to be funny as hell. It takes you through the wild night of a bellboy working at a hotel. He encounters very interesting people and finds himself in odd situations. From a coven of witches all the way to dead hookers this is a great movie. If you… More
A very underrated movie. I found it to be funny as hell. It takes you through the wild night of a bellboy working at a hotel. He encounters very interesting people and finds himself in odd situations. From a coven of witches all the way to dead hookers this is a great movie. If you love Quentin Tarantino you will definitively love the dark humor. Fap Rating: 4.2/10 Overall: 9/10
Jason S

Utterly warped, but totally engrossing movie. Split into four narratives, each is as wierd and wonderful as the other, but its all in fun. Rodriguez' story is the highlight.
Curt C

Not memorable in any sort of way.