#140RVW
EXACTLY what it appears to be. That’s not a bad thing, really. Tidy little story for kids, funny & well executed. We should all be so lucky.
What’s more:
Going to be hard to stretch this review out, because there really isn’t a ton to say when a movie is so completely transparent about what it plans to accomplish. Hotel For Dogs knows exactly what it wants to be and what it wants to do, then proceeds to do exactly that.
Based on a 1971 novel, orphan siblings Andi (Emma Roberts) & Bruce (Jake T. Austin) are struggling to get by and running out of time and chances with foster parents, as they want to stick together but keep getting themselves into trouble. Their current foster parents, played by Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon, are self-absorbed wannabe rockers who have little interest in the kids and no interest in letting them keep a dog.
While caring for their stray dog, Friday, they chance upon an abandoned hotel where they plan to keep Friday. The hotel is already inhabited by two strays, Georgia and Lenny, and if you can’t see where this is going I suggest you re-read the title.
Did you spot the metaphor? Unwanted dogs = orphans? Well done. Don’t be afraid to ask for help on the hard ones.
It’s a fun little movie. Undeterred by the adage “never work with children or animals”, director Thor Freudenthal manages to competently handle both in what couldn’t have been an easy shoot. Working on these type of family pictures is sort of a thankless job; you really only get recognized if you screw it up. But the production is very good, and the machines that young Bruce designs to care for the dogs are a blast.
But the young actors are cute and precocious and when you find out that Nickelodeon was behind it you may fall over from non-surprise. Everything is very safe.
Most of the enjoyment of the film comes, obviously from the animal talent. It really is quite impressive how well the animals are trained. They hand of man is completely absent here; the animals behave so believably for the camera that you completely forget that there are probably 50 trainers standing six inches out of frame. This movie could have been make with CG animals and they wouldn’t have had to change a thing – that’s how perfectly the dogs “act”.
I appreciate movies that punch their weight, and Hotel For Dogs certainly does. Unlikely to remain long in anyone’s memory, it is nevertheless certain to captivate kids for years – until they watch the next family-friendly movie…
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
Pass
The Representation Test Score: B (9 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Emma Roberts Andi, Jake T. Austin Bruce, Lisa Kudrow Lois Scudder, Don Cheadle Bernie |
| Rating | PG |
| Release Date | Fri 16 Jan 2009 UTC |
| Director | Thor Freudenthal |
| Genres | Comedy, Family |
| Plot | Two kids secretly take in stray dogs at a vacant hotel. |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 100 |
| Tagline | No stray gets turned away |
| Writers | Jeff Lowell (screenplay) and, Robert Schooley (as Bob Schooley) (screenplay) … |
| Year | 2009 |