Thank you for all the wonderful comments/reviews/memories that this film inspires. I had not seen Sweet Lorraine for many years until I rented it again, just a few days ago. Because summers make me nostalgic, we are having what I call a "Summer of Love, Borscht Belt Film Festival", at our house, that will include A Walk on the Moon, Dirty Dancing, Camp, and the more contemporary Stage Door (which I have never seen before).
There are not many movies that have been made about the Catskills "experience", so we must hold dear, those few we do have...but Sweet Lorraine remains the treasure, because it is the real deal. Several customer reviews I have read for this movie are unfavorable..."bad Script", "poor cinematography", "amteurish", "nothing much going on", though some did praise the performances. That said, I believe that these viewers didn't "get" this movie. Sweet Lorraine is an homage to the family owned hotels in the Catskills region of New York State (and there were other pockets, as well) that thrived for almost a century...and in this tale, the Hotel Lorraine, long past it's prime, and going through what may be it's last hurrah, will perhaps close out an era, that only those of us who were lucky enough to have had this experience can appreciate.
Sweet Lorraine is authentic, right down to the details of the hotel, and the staff who are like extended family, to the genial and heartwarming story of Lil (Maureen Stapleton), the hotel's matriarch, achingly trying to let go of 80 wonderful summers, and her granddaughter Molly (Trini Alvarado), who sweetly, naively wants to maintain the property.
Amateurish? Think of this more like a home movie. Borscht Belt comedians who weren't that funny? Yeah, that's the way it was. Nothing much going on? Look deeper. While this movie may not be everyone's cup of tea (make mine in a glass, please), it depicts a quieter, gentler time that was all about love, family, and connection. I give this movie an "A" for Authenticity. But I voted it an 8 out of 10 because it's not perfect in the craft of great film making...and probably only those of us who were "there", can forgive the imperfections, maybe even love it a little more for it's flaws. Our treasures are valued in spite of their cracks and wrinkles.
I've been to several resorts in the Catskills, but I spent nearly 20 summers at a hotel in Randolph Township, New Jersey...first as a guest, with my family ( as a kid), and then as a counselor and office assistant on the switchboard (as a teen). At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, hotels, bungalows and summer camps were growing rapidly in the Mount Freedom area, and became known as the other "Borscht Belt". East Coast vacationers, mostly from NYC, experienced the same family resort settings that it's Catskills counterpart did. During my time there, from the mid 1950's through the early 1970's, the family hotel, as we knew it, was still in full swing...but it would only be a handful of years before it would all change. I can tell you that the bittersweet story that is told in Sweet Lorraine is genuine, and that there is a piece of everyone I have ever known, from those days, in it's characters. I know I will treasure this movie for years to come.
There are not many movies that have been made about the Catskills "experience", so we must hold dear, those few we do have...but Sweet Lorraine remains the treasure, because it is the real deal. Several customer reviews I have read for this movie are unfavorable..."bad Script", "poor cinematography", "amteurish", "nothing much going on", though some did praise the performances. That said, I believe that these viewers didn't "get" this movie. Sweet Lorraine is an homage to the family owned hotels in the Catskills region of New York State (and there were other pockets, as well) that thrived for almost a century...and in this tale, the Hotel Lorraine, long past it's prime, and going through what may be it's last hurrah, will perhaps close out an era, that only those of us who were lucky enough to have had this experience can appreciate.
Sweet Lorraine is authentic, right down to the details of the hotel, and the staff who are like extended family, to the genial and heartwarming story of Lil (Maureen Stapleton), the hotel's matriarch, achingly trying to let go of 80 wonderful summers, and her granddaughter Molly (Trini Alvarado), who sweetly, naively wants to maintain the property.
Amateurish? Think of this more like a home movie. Borscht Belt comedians who weren't that funny? Yeah, that's the way it was. Nothing much going on? Look deeper. While this movie may not be everyone's cup of tea (make mine in a glass, please), it depicts a quieter, gentler time that was all about love, family, and connection. I give this movie an "A" for Authenticity. But I voted it an 8 out of 10 because it's not perfect in the craft of great film making...and probably only those of us who were "there", can forgive the imperfections, maybe even love it a little more for it's flaws. Our treasures are valued in spite of their cracks and wrinkles.
I've been to several resorts in the Catskills, but I spent nearly 20 summers at a hotel in Randolph Township, New Jersey...first as a guest, with my family ( as a kid), and then as a counselor and office assistant on the switchboard (as a teen). At the beginning of the Twentieth Century, hotels, bungalows and summer camps were growing rapidly in the Mount Freedom area, and became known as the other "Borscht Belt". East Coast vacationers, mostly from NYC, experienced the same family resort settings that it's Catskills counterpart did. During my time there, from the mid 1950's through the early 1970's, the family hotel, as we knew it, was still in full swing...but it would only be a handful of years before it would all change. I can tell you that the bittersweet story that is told in Sweet Lorraine is genuine, and that there is a piece of everyone I have ever known, from those days, in it's characters. I know I will treasure this movie for years to come.