Win Berry (Beau Bridges) and his wife have five kids, John (Rob Lowe), Franny (Jodie Foster), Frank, Lilly, and Egg (Seth Green). Win and his wife worked at a summer New England hotel where they met Freud (Wallace Shawn) and his bear before the war. Freud left for war leaving the bear with Win and telling the couple to get married. After the war, the hotel is abandoned and the bear gets killed by mistake. The family is a rambunctious bunch with farting dog Sorrow. The Berry kids get picked on by Chip Dove (Matthew Modine) especially since Frank is gay. Lilly has stopped growing. Win buys an abandoned school and turns it into a hotel. Frank and Franny pay waitress Ronda Ray to take away John's virginity. On Halloween, John and Franny are running to get an ambulance for a cop who had a heart-attack. Chip Dove and his friends catch them, and they gang-rape Franny. Junior Jones and the other black students come to the rescue. Frank had Sorrow stuffed. Their grandpa Iowa Bob (Wilford Brimley) dies. Freud invites the family to help run his Vienna hotel. Win had taken one of Freud's story making "Keep passing the open window" as the family motto. Of course, the tragedies keep coming. Mother and Egg are killed on the plane over. The Berrys find Freud blinded and Susie the Bear (Nastassja Kinski) working at the rundown hotel populated by hookers and revolutionaries like Miss Miscarriage and Ernst who looks exactly like Chip Dove. The family stays and renames the place Hotel New Hampshire.
This is adapted from the John Irving novel who also wrote "The World According to Garp". The two movies have very similar sensibilities. This one has more main characters. It does have a feel of being overstuffed. Every character has some strange aspects. However, this movie is filled with memorable scenes and turns. These unforgettable characters are played by some very interesting actors.
This is adapted from the John Irving novel who also wrote "The World According to Garp". The two movies have very similar sensibilities. This one has more main characters. It does have a feel of being overstuffed. Every character has some strange aspects. However, this movie is filled with memorable scenes and turns. These unforgettable characters are played by some very interesting actors.