What secrets lie behind all those closed motel-room doors? Not very interesting ones, if you’re staying at Canadian director Gary Yates’ Niagara Motel. Inside its peeling walls, a crowd of unconnected people try to sort out their lives: ex-addict Anna Friel and her husband desperately try to recover their baby from social services; a cash-strapped married couple (Wendy Crewson, Peter Keleghan) are falling apart in the honeymoon suite; a pregnant waitress (Caroline Dhavernas) dabbles with the idea of making cheap porn; and the motel’s drunk caretaker (Craig Ferguson) plunges into the Falls in search of the wife he lost.
Although sweet and comic in parts, the stories are spread too thin to enable any real enjoyment – although strong performances from Yates’ ensemble boost it more than it deserves.