Hotel for Dogs
Dir: Thor Freudenthal
2009
*
Hotel for Dogs was recommended to me by another
fellow film buff during a long conversation that involved alcohol. He
suggested that the structure and content of the film was so faultless that the
overall production was an example of misunderstood cinematic perfection.
I realise now that he was making fun of me, although I had just
ridiculed a script he had just written though to be fair. The jokes on him
though as it seems Hollywood are quite happy to make an expensive film
exploring the trials and tribulations of fostering orphaned children (with
Dogs) rather than spend money on a Vampires vs. Genghis
Khan action comedy. The idea is a rather weak vehicle and a poor excuse to
watch Dogs do human things. I like Dogs but I prefer to watch them do doggy
things really, I dislike films of this ilk, especially when you hear of how poorly
the animals are often treated. There are a quite a few questionable scenes
within Hotel for Dogs that bothered me (how is it okay
for a child to commit common assault? Where did they get water and electricity
from? Why would a dog want to pretend they were in a car in Malibu?) but
to give it much further thought would be taking it all too seriously. It's just
another awful kid’s film that should be avoided at all costs. If parents really
do care about what they let their kids watch then there are some far better
choices than this.
