Help me list film, TV, play, book, etc. scenes of room service delivery?
August 7, 2020 8:47 AM Subscribe
I'm looking for fictional scenes in which room service is delivered. Happy to accept scenes in any medium, and from any era, though the earlier the better.
The Twin Peaks episode "May The Giant be With You" has an amazing, maddening, frustrating room service scene in a life or death situation.
posted by fountainofdoubt at 9:00 AM on August 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by fountainofdoubt at 9:00 AM on August 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
The classic stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers movie A Night at the Opera. 1935.
posted by lovecrafty at 9:00 AM on August 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by lovecrafty at 9:00 AM on August 7, 2020 [10 favorites]
Mr. Mom
Patriot Games
Two movies off the top of my head that include a scene of a man opening the door for room service to bring in something he had ordered in secret while the woman was in the tub, usually something that included champagne.
Answer the door, tell the guy where to put the cart, slip him a tip, pop the cork. Insert if needed an answer to the woman in the tub if she asks who's at the door.
If you're not looking for anything more extensive than that, there are countless movies out there with this sort of scene.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:03 AM on August 7, 2020
Patriot Games
Two movies off the top of my head that include a scene of a man opening the door for room service to bring in something he had ordered in secret while the woman was in the tub, usually something that included champagne.
Answer the door, tell the guy where to put the cart, slip him a tip, pop the cork. Insert if needed an answer to the woman in the tub if she asks who's at the door.
If you're not looking for anything more extensive than that, there are countless movies out there with this sort of scene.
posted by Fukiyama at 9:03 AM on August 7, 2020
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol has a scene in which Simon Pegg poses as someone delivering room service.
posted by jonathanhughes at 9:03 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jonathanhughes at 9:03 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Four Rooms
posted by Fuego at 9:09 AM on August 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Fuego at 9:09 AM on August 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
The breakfast scene from Pretty Woman is a classic example of the trope where room service stands for "super wealthy"
posted by nantucket at 9:13 AM on August 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by nantucket at 9:13 AM on August 7, 2020 [3 favorites]
One quick tool is IMDB keywords -- e.g. IMDB list of keyword "room service" + released before 1940. The keywords are user-submitted though, so it'll be an incomplete list with just whatever people bothered to add.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:16 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:16 AM on August 7, 2020
The classic stateroom scene in the Marx Brothers movie A Night at the Opera
.... as well as the Broadway play they made into the 'Room Service' movie in 1938. Here's a scene opening with room service delivering a meal to them.
"Jumping Butterballs!"
posted by Rash at 9:17 AM on August 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
.... as well as the Broadway play they made into the 'Room Service' movie in 1938. Here's a scene opening with room service delivering a meal to them.
"Jumping Butterballs!"
posted by Rash at 9:17 AM on August 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
Searches of script archives seem to turn up a lot of candidates--like, hundreds in which room service is at least mentioned: 1, 2, etc.
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:45 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Wobbuffet at 9:45 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
The Godfather? Michael and Kay are definitely eating room service, I can’t 100% remember if we saw it being delivered.
posted by jen14221 at 10:02 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by jen14221 at 10:02 AM on August 7, 2020
Hotel Chevalier, the short prologue to Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, features room service being ordered and delivered.
posted by terretu at 10:30 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by terretu at 10:30 AM on August 7, 2020
In E. B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan, published 1970 and set in 1968, Louis the swan orders watercress sandwiches while staying at the Ritz Hotel.
posted by shirobara at 10:52 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by shirobara at 10:52 AM on August 7, 2020
On Chesil Beach (room service arrives around 5m30s).
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by EXISTENZ IS PAUSED at 10:54 AM on August 7, 2020
In the "I Love Lucy" episode "The Star Upstairs", there is a long scene of the bellhop delivering room service whilst Lucy hides under the cart. I couldn't find a clip, but it's pretty good!
posted by Don_K at 10:57 AM on August 7, 2020
posted by Don_K at 10:57 AM on August 7, 2020
1934's The Gay Divorcee (an example) was based on a 1932 Broadway musical.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:25 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:25 AM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Robert De Niro poses as room service to get to Waingro in the movie Heat.
One Hour Photo has an interesting room service scene as well.
posted by porn in the woods at 12:33 PM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
One Hour Photo has an interesting room service scene as well.
posted by porn in the woods at 12:33 PM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
Frasier has a full episode devoted to Room Service.
posted by Champagne Supernova at 1:26 PM on August 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by Champagne Supernova at 1:26 PM on August 7, 2020 [2 favorites]
a friend of Sport's works in room service at the Plaza in louise fitzhugh's eponymous kid's book
posted by brujita at 1:38 PM on August 7, 2020
posted by brujita at 1:38 PM on August 7, 2020
Annie gets room service in the Community episode Conventions of Time and Space.
posted by somedaycatlady at 2:15 PM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by somedaycatlady at 2:15 PM on August 7, 2020 [1 favorite]
'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' has some room services...
I'm thinking... of a scene in a crime film where the fed agents have an informer sequestered in a motel before a jury testimony, they call in for room service, the mafia has the phone tapped and delivers a poisoned pizza right before the real room service shows up. I'm not sure but it might have been Soderbergh 'Traffic'? (digression: original Channel 4 'Traffik' is much better)
posted by ovvl at 5:25 PM on August 7, 2020
I'm thinking... of a scene in a crime film where the fed agents have an informer sequestered in a motel before a jury testimony, they call in for room service, the mafia has the phone tapped and delivers a poisoned pizza right before the real room service shows up. I'm not sure but it might have been Soderbergh 'Traffic'? (digression: original Channel 4 'Traffik' is much better)
posted by ovvl at 5:25 PM on August 7, 2020
I'm thinking of Fred Astaire movies with all the luxurious hotel scenes, but I can't think specifically of which movies. Several, at least, were set in grand hotels or on cruise ships. And what about "Grand Hotel" with Greta Garbo, John Barrymore and Joan Crawford? Makes me want to re-watch them all.
posted by citygirl at 7:39 PM on August 7, 2020
posted by citygirl at 7:39 PM on August 7, 2020
Flight with Denzel Washington.
posted by porn in the woods at 10:50 PM on August 7, 2020
posted by porn in the woods at 10:50 PM on August 7, 2020
Live and Let Die has the nefarious Whisper deliver room service to our man Bond. Doesn't room service wake up Harrison Ford in Frantic? Room service is key in the final act of the X-Files episode Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose.
posted by valkane at 9:35 PM on August 8, 2020
posted by valkane at 9:35 PM on August 8, 2020
Oh, and there's some room service action in North By Northwest, in which Cary Grant tips with a gracious charm that we should all aspire to.
posted by valkane at 9:43 PM on August 8, 2020
posted by valkane at 9:43 PM on August 8, 2020
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posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:49 AM on August 7, 2020