Movie with Abe: Do Not Disturb (Capsule Review)

Do Not Disturb
Released Online May 1, 2011

On several sites and on your Netflix queue, you can now watch this 73-minute assemblage of vignettes centered around one particularly quirky, curious hotel maid. Each segment is directed by a different filmmaker, and the short films run the gamut from sedately intriguing to all-out deranged. The subtlest piece, chronicling the unlikely bonding of two Southern high school students, is by far the most effective, and shines among the others. Eric Balfour gets hypnotized by aliens for the second time in two years, after last year’s horrific “Skyline,” leading to similarly awful results. Most grievous, however, is the film’s final segment, which, aside from an amusing appearance by Troy Garity, is unnecessary violent, off-putting, and altogether grotesque and underwhelming at the same time. Compared to something like the already flawed 1995’s “Four Rooms,” this film doesn’t hold a candle, and that’s partially due to its underdeveloped lead character, played by Diva Zappa, and the incongruity of the different segments.