When I saw an ad for the If These Walls Could Rock trailer, I was interested because it featured Sheryl Crow, Dave Grohl, Lzzy Hale, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Robinson, Slash, and Billy Gibbons, among other huge rock and roll names. What were some of my favorite musicians doing on the same documentary? What the hell was this? A movie about a hotel in Los Angeles that wasn’t the Riot House or Chateau Marmont? So I sat down to watch a story about the Sunset Marquis – a family business that is still around after six decades of ups and downs.
Apparently, the Sunset Marquis was the place where musicians came to “be themselves” aka do whatever they wanted without anyone blinking an eye, taking a photo, or calling the police. Clad in a durag and skinny jeans, Billy Bob Thornton is the first face the viewer sees. Looking like a pirate, he calls himself the “unofficial mayor” of the hotel because he spent many years living there. As he chain-smokes and cracks multiple beers, he presents as a cliché until he talks about his brother dying in the middle of the night leading him to never wanting to be alone. Thornton is 71 years old and doesn’t seem to age. In addition to the aforementioned names, Cyndi Lauper, Darius Rucker, and Morrissey are all interviewed. While Sharon and Kelly Osbourne talk about the debauchery that took place at the hotel, several other big names give their interviews while inexplicably wearing bathrobes or pajamas.
I get that rock stars liked the hotel’s proximity to the Sunset Strip – especially since that’s where some of my favorite metal bands cut their teeth. But aside from the proximity and anonymity it provided, I’m not sure why this hotel became a cultural landmark. What makes it iconic enough for a documentary? According to the famous faces in the film, the Sunset Marquis was a wonderland that accepted their rock and roll lifestyles which meant the shenanigans that happened around the pool became legendary and people could stay there for years, months, or just a few hours.
When the documentary gets to the part about the Whiskey Bar being built inside the hotel and becoming a Hollywood hotspot, the legend of it all starts making a little more sense. Spearheaded by Rande Gerber (Cindy Crawford’s husband), the bar became the place to see and be seen in the 1990s. Places like The Rainbow, Troubadour, and Whisky A Go Go are part of rock and roll history because of who played music there. In this case, the hotel became iconic because of who showed up to hang out. Another aspect that resonates is that there is a recording studio in the basement of the Sunset Marquis. For some reason, very little time is spent on that part of the hotel’s history which is odd because the recording studio aspect is way more interesting than the cartoon intervals that punctuate multiple sections of the film.
All the rock and roll stories aside, the core of this documentary is the relationship and history of father/son owners George and Mark Rosenthal. These two make no excuses for their hotel or each other which is refreshing. A real estate developer looking for his next venture, George bought the property in 1963, built the hotel, and named it for his newborn son Markey. It makes more sense if you say it out loud: Markey = Marquis. Throughout his interview clips, George (who looks pretty good for a guy in his 90s) admits he wasn’t the best father, or businessman for that matter, as he would have lost everything if not for the help of his son Mark (in his 60s) who rescued him and the hotel from financial ruin. George was the kind of guy who put himself and his business first and gave his young son, who at the time was helping with hotel upkeep, a hard time for leaning on a shovel. From the looks on their faces, decades later, that story still stings.
While the big music names initially piqued my interest, it’s the father/son story that keeps If These Walls Could Rock from being a cautionary tale. Although a wide array of musicians really saw the Sunset Marquis as a place of solace, the Rosenthals believed and still believe in its cultural importance. It is everything to them. Overall, the idea of hotels as cultural icons is interesting because usually its more about who you see and what you’re allowed to do there than anything else – which is exactly what this whole film is about. The Chateau Marmont, Beverly Wilshire, and Hollywood Roosevelt all have histories that involve famous musicians and actors, stories about things people did and saw, who lived there, and who you might see if you visit. After this documentary, the Sunset Marquis is part of that list now as well. The secret is officially out.
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