User Reviews

Following a shooting, antsy teenager Peter (well played with twitchy intensity by Ricky Paull Goldin) tries to elude being nabbed by the police by seeking refuge at a strange hotel where all the tenants are total oddballs. Director Brian Grant, working from a quirky and intriguingly abstract script by Marjorie David, does a sterling job of maintaining a constant swift pace and expertly creates an absorbing enigmatic atmosphere rife with edgy paranoia and mystery (the purposefully vague story doesn't completely jell into something coherent until the surprising and harrowing conclusion). The excellent acting from a tip-top cast portraying a colorful array of neat offbeat characters helps matters a whole lot: Kirstie Alley as flaky and abrasive magician Angelica, Lawrence Dane as the determined cop hot on Peter's trail, Elizabeth Ashley as the bitter and boozy Mrs. Baxter, Desiree Nosbusch as the sultry and seductive Kathy, Gary Chalk as a hostile chef, and Alex Diakun as a friendly barman. Thomas Burstyn's sharp, lively, and shadowy cinematography provides a pleasing glossy look while Michel Rubini's moody and syncopated score further enhances the pervasive peculiarity. One of this show's most interesting and idiosyncratic half hours.