5 responses to “Hotel for Dogs”

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  Penelope L. Shuster March 16th, 2010 at 13:39

  I am beginning to get blu-ray, INSTEAD OF WHAT I HAD ORDERED. . I want DVD, so I will be returning the merchandise.

  I do not own a Blu-Ray machine.
  Rating: 1 / 5

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  Chris Pandolfi March 16th, 2010 at 16:04

  “Hotel for Dogs”–based on the book by Lois Duncan–is a cute kids film, but it’s so grossly implausible that it’s hard to focus on anything else. It tells the story of a group of kids that rescue stray dogs from the inner city and house them in an abandoned hotel. It’s a fun idea, but as hard as I tried to suspend my disbelief, as much as I wanted to escape into pure fantasy, my brain would not stop analyzing the logistical issues this film never bothers to address. Maybe I’m too old for a movie like this. Then again, maybe it has nothing to do with age; a film geared towards children doesn’t automatically have to preposterous beyond all reason. The people behind “Hotel for Dogs” seem to be taking the exact opposite viewpoint, and I find that very problematic. Kids will laugh at the jokes and fall in love with the dogs, but I seriously doubt they will believe that anything happening in the story is even remotely possible.

  We’re introduced to a teenage girl named Andi (Emma Roberts) and her younger brother, Bruce (Jake T. Austin), who have been foster children since the death of their parents some years earlier. Their social worker, Bernie (Don Cheadle), now has them living in Central City (Los Angeles in real life) with wannabe rock musicians Lois and Carl Scudder (Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillion), who don’t care about the siblings one bit. For a couple of years, Andi and Bruce have been hiding ownership of an adorable Jack Russell terrier named Friday by keeping him in alleys, garages, and curbs; because the kids aren’t given an allowance, they have to pay for dog food by scamming people, and this usually involves putting a rock in a cell phone box, covering the box in shrink-wrap, and taking it to the pawn shop. They haven’t always gotten away with it, however, and Bernie is always there to cut them a break. But his patience is understandably wearing thin.

  When Andi, Bruce, and Friday find themselves at odds with the law, they hide in a condemned hotel, where they discover two other stray dogs. The next day, when the siblings go to buy food for the dogs, they meet two young pet shop employees, Dave (Johnny Simmons) and Heather (Kyla Pratt), who then follow the siblings to the hotel and offer to help them care for the dogs. So does Mark (Troy Gentile), a teenage boy that has a crush on Heather. At this point, we learn that Bruce is an inventor, and when its decided that the hotel be converted into a dog shelter, he concocts a number of elaborate devices that cater to a dog’s basic needs.

  And now the questions begin. How were the kids able to turn the electricity and the water back on? Isn’t it convenient that a condemned hotel just happens to have furniture, abandoned clothing, and even the old ledger from the front desk? Where exactly is Bruce getting his supplies? His foster parents accuse him of stealing from them late in the film, but I seriously doubt he relied on them for movie projectors, screens, fans, and detached car doors and seats, all of which are used to simulate the experience of going on a drive with the window rolled down. And while we’re on the subject, who actually found stock footage of a highway shot from a moving vehicle? Where was it found?

  The questions pile up as more strays are taken in. Where did the kids find an empty vending machine, and how were they able to fill it with things for a dog to chew on, like slippers and such? How is it they have enough money to provide the dogs with food? How did they set up the dining hall, which has a miniature train set pulling a series of dog bowls down the length of a massive table? When a dog has to use the restroom, it squats over an open hole and goes into a blue shrink-wrap bag, which is then carried along a conveyer belt, down a pipe, and into a dumpster: How were the dogs trained to go to one specific place for a restroom break? Do the kids really think that tossing dog waste into a dumpster is an adequate way to keep things clean? Furthermore, where did the conveyer belt come from? Or the blue shrink-wrap bags?

  I think I’ve made my point. I’m probably looking too deeply into this, but come on, this is unrealistic even for a fantasy. It doesn’t help that all the adult characters are flat, shallow caricatures. Carl and Lois are uncaring and clueless. Dogcatchers are ugly and vindictive. A young man sitting at a park bench is selfish, refusing to let Friday have his hot dog. The only exceptions to this are Bernie and his wife, who are kind, earnest, and accommodating. The kids, on the other hand, are plucky and fresh-faced, which I guess is appropriate given the kind of story being told. Still, it would have been nice to add a bit more depth to these characters. Other than the siblings, Dave, Heather, and Mark and extraneous, serving no real purpose other than to be humorous companions. And I never really bought the puppy love developing between Andi and Dave–if there’s anything this story doesn’t need, it’s a whitewashed teenage romance.

  If there is a saving grace for “Hotel for Dogs,” it’s the fact that the dogs are loveable characters in their own right. It also promotes pet adoption and humane treatment. But that leads me to another thing about this story that bothers me: What about a hotel for cats? Dogs are not the only abandoned animals, you know. If Andi and Bruce were true animal rights activists, they wouldn’t be so picky about which ones to rescue. Much like the film’s plausibility factor, it was something the filmmakers overlooked.
  Rating: 3 / 5

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  Tim Warneka March 16th, 2010 at 18:21

  Took my 14-year-old son, my 11-year old daughter and my [censored] year-old mother. (All three dog lovers. )

  My son was bored, my daughter and mom liked it.

  The movie had some cute moments, but it wasn’t as good as some reviewers are giving it . . . certainly not a classic.

  Definitely good for kids from 6-10. Nice to see a movie that doesn’t have obscene/sexualized jokes.

  Rating: 3 / 5

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  G. Teslovich March 16th, 2010 at 18:22

  (1. ) You’re warned at the start of the movie that it may not be appropriate because of thematic content. Puzzling at first since how can another feel good movie with trained dogs and a couple of kids trying to rescue them be so terrible. Well, since the kids are stealing, selling ripped off items to people, disobeying parents and police as well as any adult with responsibilities and lying for most of the movie I can see how most parents aren’t going to find this movie the best role model. The kids good intentions and cute Rube Goldberg contraptions are not a justification for their methods. Additionally and unfortunately, foster homes again take another cruel hit in the movies. Having had to monitor the foster care of my students for many years I can say that 90% of those homes are a far more positive influence than the alternatives, and under challenging circumstances that only caring people can pull off.
  (2. ) Acting was predictable, stereotypic, spiritless and dull. Dogs, however, were well trained and are a testament to positive reinforcement and treats. Props to the editor for melding the dogs scenes into a seamless and coherent story.
  Rating: 2 / 5

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  S. Yoder March 16th, 2010 at 19:18

  Have not watched this movie yet. Got it for my son’s birthday. But the delivery was fast and it came in great condition.
  Rating: 5 / 5