Hotel for Dogs
Posted on Jan 15, 2009
By Julia Szabo
If you were one of many moviegoers fortunate enough to catch a sneak preview of this film, which hits theaters on Friday, January 16, then you already know that it's one of the very few releases in recent history with equal appeal to grownups and kids (so long as all family members are dog lovers). This Paramount picture, with echoes of the
greatest cinema classics in the canine canon, will surely remind you of old-school Disney film making.
Two unhappy orphan siblings, Andi (played by Emma Roberts, who is even more luminous than her aunt Julia) and Bruce (Jake T. Austin) manage to conceal their beloved
Parson Russell terrier from their loser foster parents (Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon). When the inevitable happens and Friday the dog is discovered, he's promptly banished - so the resourceful kids stash him at a nearby vacant hotel, where they discover two other dogs have already taken up residence.
Pretty soon, with the motto "No stray turned away," Andi and Bruce (with help from a few dog-loving teenage friends) turn the condemned property into a happy halfway house for any homeless dogs that cross their path. An overwhelming number of dogs show up in no time flat - and all are rescued and treated with TLC by Andi and Jake, who could seriously use a rescuer themselves.
The dogs, wrangled by veteran trainer Mark Forbes of
Birds and Animals Unlimited, appear as ordinary dogs. That is, they don't "speak" with human voices, but instead express themselves with unforgettable looks, gestures, and - in the case of a melancholy
Mastiff named Lenny - howls. Just like the dog(s) you have at home.
The movie's message is a radical one: that homeless dogs are family members, no different than parentless children, and equally deserving of respect, compassion, and a second (or even third) chance at love and happiness. (There's another important message here: people who rescue dogs really are the best people you could hope to meet.) No wonder
American Humane, the film-industry watchdog that awards the prestigious "No animals were harmed" end credit to deserving movies, and whose unique dual mission is protecting animals and children, has awarded "Hotel for Dogs" its highest rating: Outstanding.
That's not an overstatement: this is a terrific movie with the happiest of all possible happy endings, in which the excellent Don Cheadle plays a key role. Don't miss it.
| Presence of dogs: |  |
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