Glamour in Search of Style

Hollywood’s new Sunset Room would seem to have it all: moneyed owners (of the Roxbury, Georgia), moneyed chef (Drai’s), moneyed clientele (fill in almost any major celebrity name here) and moneyed decor--a multimillion-dollar renovation of an old film supply warehouse, resulting in a “Casa-blanca”-style nightclub and restaurant.

But . . . I ain’t feeling it.

Despite all its winning components--and there are plenty--this isn’t the ‘90s. It’s a brave new world out there, and people are smarter than you think. They’re starting to be able to sense when a place has direction and when it’s simply flying by the seat of its pants. And despite all the hoopla, we don’t know where the Sunset Room is going.

Although the 12,000-square-foot venue on Cahuenga Boulevard just south of Sunset Boulevard is opulent, with a gorgeous dining room and a spacious dancing area, so is the Garden of Eden and, for that matter, a few other nearby spots.

Don’t get me wrong: Just like the Roxbury, there are huge lines on weekends, and the Sunset Room also has a smart and sophisticated doorman, Eric James. He got his training at the tony Gate (which continues to defy the laws of clubland gravity) and knows the ropes of who gets past the velvet rope, and when.

See, the Roxbury--for all its status and limelight in the early ‘90s--didn’t have staying power. The pictures of Tori Spelling and Shannen Doherty hanging bar-side will forever be etched in our memory--well, mine anyway--but it’s just that, a memory.

The Sunset Room faces the same problem Billboard Live faced: The entertainment wasn’t well-thought-out enough to handle the level of scrutiny it faced. Happily, the Key Club--the new name for the old Billboard Live--is another story. The Sunset Strip club is nailing L.A.’s youthful entertainment needs on the head.

The Sunset Room’s entertainment director, Linetta Kidd (who most recently booked Moonlight Tango in Sherman Oaks), has plans to put big-act entertainers in the performance room, but it’s still a work in progress. In the meantime, folks can get the same fare they can get at countless other clubs around L.A.: a disco cover band on Thursdays, a lounge act on Tuesdays, and hip-hop deejays on Fridays and Saturdays.

And because it’s the new kid on the heart-of-Hollywood map, those who wanna play star search can line up on weekends early and check out the scene. On a recent Friday, Damon Wayans was holding court at the entrance, scoping out the newcomers, while Tori’s bro, Randy Spelling, was chilling with a homespun posse in the VIP area.

Simply stated, folks who like a scene--and there are plenty who will dig the scene here--will be liking the Sunset Room for a spell. But remember, spells break. So, like the fairy tales, we’ll be checking back in a year and a day.

BE THERE

Sunset Room, 1430 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 463-0004. 21 and older. Cover varies. Dinner reservations recommended.

Club No. 1