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Dunston Checks In

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Dunston Checks In
Promotional poster
Directed byKen Kwapis
Screenplay byJohn Hopkins
Bruce Graham
Story byJohn Hopkins
Produced byTodd Black
Joe Wizan
Starring
CinematographyPeter Lyons Collister
Edited byJon Poll
Music byMiles Goodman
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • January 12, 1996 (1996-01-12)
Running time
88 minutes
CountriesCanada[1]
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[3]
Box office$9.9 million

Dunston Checks In is a 1996 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 and grossed $10 million against a budget of $20 million.

Plot

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At the prestigious five-star Majestic Hotel, guest Lionel Spalding and his dog Neil fall victim to an overflowing fountain, the result of a prank by Kyle and Brian Grant, sons of the hotel's widowed manager Robert. Though disappointed in his sons' behavior, Robert promises them a vacation in Barbados - a trip that's already been postponed twice. However, the strict hotel owner Elena Dubrow forces another cancellation due to the upcoming Crystal Ball, where they expect a critic from the Le Monde Traveller Organization to potentially award the hotel a sixth star.

The hotel welcomes "Lord" Rutledge, a jewel thief posing as the expected critic, who arrives with his orangutan Dunston. Having trained both Dunston and his deceased brother Samson as theft accomplices since birth, Rutledge maintains cruel control over Dunston, who yearns to escape his criminal life. During one of Rutledge's schemes, Kyle accidentally releases a pulley, sending Brian tumbling down a laundry chute. In the ensuing chaos, Dunston escapes Rutledge's supervision.

Kyle discovers and befriends the fugitive orangutan, promising him protection. However, Dunston's presence creates havoc throughout the hotel, disrupting Spalding's exercise routine and Mrs. Angela Dellacroce's massage session. Robert, upon discovering the orangutan, enlists animal control specialist Buck LaFarge to remove him.

After LaFarge's initial capture attempt fails, the Grant brothers hide Dunston in the royal suite under the alias Dr. Lam Binh Ngoc. Rutledge tracks down Dunston through his substantial banana orders and restrains Kyle, but both boy and orangutan escape to the Crystal Ball. Armed with photographic evidence of Rutledge's true identity featuring Dunston and Samson, the boys alert their father. While Robert confronts Rutledge in the kitchen, the brothers search for Dunston while evading LaFarge and Mrs. Dubrow. The situation culminates in Dunston sending Mrs. Dubrow face-first into the celebration cake.

When Robert finally stands up to Mrs. Dubrow, she fires him. However, the true critic is revealed to be none other than Spalding, who, having suffering numerous indignities throughout his stay, declares Mrs. Dubrow has reduced the hotel's rating from five stars to one. After Rutledge's arrest and LaFarge's apology to Dunston (who responds with a slap), Mrs. Dubrow's more sympathetic husband Victor arranges for the Grants to manage a Majestic Hotel in Bali, where they can keep Dunston. They extend a peace offering to Spalding with complimentary accommodations, though the gesture is somewhat undermined when Dunston drops a coconut on his head in the final scene.

Cast

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Production

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Writer John Hopkins had written a spec script revolving around two young brothers living in a large, prestigious New York hotel managed by their father.[6] Hopkins' agent shopped the script around to various studios who were uninterested in the project until producers Todd Black and Joe Wizan seeing potential in the project optioned it and hired Hopkins to re-write the script and add in the plot point of an Orangutan.[6] The project was then retitled Prime Mates and became the subject of competing bids between Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox with Fox eventually acquiring the script in April of 1993.[6] Dunston Checks in became one of three active monkey/ape films announced to be in development alongside Ed (then known as You Should See Them Play) at Universal Pictures and Monkey Trouble (then known as Pet) at New Line Cinema.[7] Uncredited rewrites were provided by Eliot Wald and Andrew Kurtzman.[8]

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.1/10.[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[10]

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.[11] 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".[12] 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."[13]

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.[14]

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).[15]

Home media

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Dunston Checks In was much more successful in home video than in theaters. As of April 1997 the studio had an estimated $41.6 million in video sales, receiving 75%, greatly exceeding box office gross.[16] The film was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on VHS on May 28, 1996. It was released on DVD on May 28, 2002, and re-released on March 18, 2014.

References

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  1. ^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com.
  2. ^ Petrikin, Chris (February 18, 1998). "Fox renamed that toon". Variety. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  3. ^ "'Dunston Checks In' to Bullock's Wilshire". Variety. Archived from the original on January 2, 2025. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  4. ^ "Bob Bergen Official Web Site: Voice-Over Resume". bobbergen.com. Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  5. ^ "Dunston Checks In". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on 2020-10-13. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  6. ^ a b c "Fox goes to mat for 'Mates'". Variety. Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  7. ^ "Burton's off 'Reilly'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  8. ^ "Film Production". Variety. Archived from the original on January 1, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2024.
  9. ^ "Dunston Checks In (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 2022-09-03. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  10. ^ "Dunston Checks In". Metacritic. Retrieved 2024-10-20.
  11. ^ 'Dunston Checks In' (PG) Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved January 2012
  12. ^ "MOVIE REVIEW : 'Dunston Checks In' Rates Five-Star Fun" . Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 2012.
  13. ^ "Kids Should Go Ape Over 'Dunston Checks In'" . Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 2012.
  14. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  15. ^ Saikat Neogi (1996). "The dubbing craze started by Jurassic Park has become a major industry today". Rashtriya Sahara. Vol. 4, no. 7–12. Sahara India Mass Communication.
  16. ^ Matzer, Marla (1997-04-16). "Direct-to-Video Family Films Are Hitting Home". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
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