Ian Schrager, once the co-owner of New York City's hottest nightclub Studio 54, paid his dues after that business debacle and went on to become a highly-respected renovator of New York landmarks, a man with a keen eye for style but one with a perfectionist vision. His challenge in refurbishing the once-luxurious Hotel Gramercy Park became the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, what with extensive labor inside and outside, hiring and training a new staff, dealing with the hotel's sordid past, as well as working around assorted residents (young musicians and the somewhat deluded elderly). The grandchildren of the original owner (whose uncle jumped to his death from the hotel balcony) have a most interesting relationship with their father (a naïve, self-styled bon vivant), and their complaints about the building upgrades speak volumes about how we put a face-lift on the past, giving it a new sheen but removing the structure's personality in the bargain. The filming technique is of the point-and-shoot school, but with such amazing, talented, and volatile personalities on display, the piece can't help but be absorbing and emotional. **1/2 from ****
