1996 film
Dunston Checks In is a 1996 Canadian-American children's comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis. The film stars Eric Lloyd, Graham Sack, Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Rupert Everett, Paul Reubens, Glenn Shadix, and Sam the Orangutan as Dunston. The film received negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed $10 million against a budget of $16 million.
Plot
Lionel Spalding (Glenn Shadix) and his dog Neil arrive at the prestigious, five-star Majestic Hotel where, due to a prank by Kyle Grant (Eric Lloyd) and his older brother Brian (Graham Sack), an overflowing fountain accidentally drenches him, greatly frustrating the hotel manager and the boys' widowed father Robert (Jason Alexander). He is disappointed with the boys but they are guaranteed a vacation in Barbados afterward, only for the ruthless, haughty hotel owner, Elena Dubrow (Faye Dunaway), to force them to cancel the trip for a third time, due to the upcoming Crystal Ball where one of the guests is revealed to be a critic from the Le Monde Traveller Organization who they hope will reward the Majestic with a sixth star.
At that moment, "Lord" Rutledge (Rupert Everett), a jewel thief whom Mrs. Dubrow believes is the critic, arrives with an orangutan named Dunston, intending to steal the guests' jewelry. Dunston and his deceased brother Samson were both trained in thievery their entire lives, and Dunston has been wanting to escape from Rutledge's poor treatment and life of crime ever since.
Meanwhile, Rutledge distracts and causes Kyle to accidentally set a sterling rope mini-pulley free from his hand where Brian falls down and out from a laundry chute. Dunston flees from Rutledge and is later found by Kyle, who befriends the poor orangutan and promises to keep him safe. However, Dunston soon begins causing disruption in the hotel such as ruining Spalding's workout and interfering with Mrs. Angela Dellacroce's massage. After realizing Dunston's presence, Robert calls for an animal control specialist named Buck LaFarge (Paul Reubens) to remove Dunston from the hotel.
After one failed attempt by LaFarge, Kyle with the help of Brian hides Dunston in the Presidential suite of the hotel under the alias of Dr. Lamb Binh Ngoc to keep him away from both LaFarge and Rutledge. However Rutledge manages to locate him due to Dunston's ordering a lot of bananas, ties Kyle up and gags him. Dunston and Kyle escape to the ballroom where the Crystal Ball is taking place, obtaining a picture of Rutledge, Dunston, and Samson from Rutledge's room. Kyle and Brian show the picture to their dad, and Robert is infuriated when Kyle says Rutledge tied him up. Brian and Kyle search for Dunston, avoiding LaFarge and Mrs. Dubrow, while Robert and Rutledge fight in the kitchen. Mrs. Dubrow eventually corners Kyle believing that he brought Dunston to the hotel despite it was Rutledge, but Dunston hanging from a chandelier pushes her into the giant party cake. Robert eventually stands up to Mrs. Dubrow, but is fired in the process. However, it turns out that Spalding, who had been humiliated, assaulted, and inconvenienced by Dunston's antics, was the real critic all along. As a result, Spalding declares Mrs. Dubrow managed to go from a five-star hotel to a one-star hotel before passing out from LaFarge's tranquilizer dart. Rutledge is arrested and LaFarge apologizes to Dunston, who then slaps him.
In the end, thanks to Mrs. Dubrow's more kind-hearted husband Victor (Nathan Davis), Robert, Kyle, and Brian move to Bali to manage a Majestic Hotel there where they can keep Dunston as a pet. They invite Spalding over with a complimentary room and meals to make up for all the trouble he experienced and assure him that nothing will go wrong this time. However, in the last scene, Dunston causes further trouble by dropping a large coconut which lands on Spalding's head.
Reception
The film holds a 16% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 19 reviews.[5]
Some contemporary reviews were more generous, however. Desson Howe and Rita Kempley of The Washington Post referred to the film by saying "it ain't half bad", and a "plucky, prank-filled family farce" respectively.[6] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stated that Dunston Checks In "is a delightful and funny family film of exceptional high style", "as light as a soufflé and just as delicious", and "plays like a tribute to the resourceful, unpretentious studio productions of the past".[7] According to an article published in the Chicago Tribune, "The cast is talented, the hide-and-seek action is silly (not killing), and the bond between a sweet little boy and the adorable ape is touching."[8]
Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.[9]
Faye Dunaway's performance in the film and in The Chamber earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated at the 18th Youth in Film Awards (Young Artist Awards) for Best Family Feature Film: Musical or Comedy, and Eric Lloyd for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Actor Age Ten or Under. The film was successful at the box office in India, where it was dubbed in Hindi and retitled Ek Bandar Hotel Ke Andar (transl. A monkey inside the hotel).[10]
