Screenhead

I have to admit, there’s a certain sort of strange appeal to the recent release Hotel for Dogs, which makes me wonder why it got relegated to the depths of a January release.  But then, it IS sort of a niche appeal, that I have to admit.

See, this is a movie that’s about pretty much what it says on the box—a couple of foster kids who’ve been shuttled around from house to house, and the current couple they’re with is a part of jackass wannabe rockers (one of whom, for some reason, is Lisa Kudrow).  Anyway, about the only joy in their otherwise sad lives is their dog Friday, who they’ve been keeping hidden for three years.  Bruce, the little brother, is something of a mechanical genius whilst big sister Andi keeps a close eye on him.  They’re minor-league grifters on the side, in an effort to keep their forbidden dog fed from foster parents that actually keep their pantry locked against unauthorized feedings.

In something of desperation for a place to keep their dog hidden, they end up in an abandoned hotel that, through Bruce’s unusual mechanical skill, is converted into a doggie paradise, complete with toilet facilities specifically adapted to dogs.  Of course, the good times don’t last long, and soon enough, new problems arise.  Can they be beaten?  Can the dogs find permanent homes that don’t require trespassing?

I’ll admit to personal bias on this one—one of my favorite things in a movie is amateur mechanical engineering, the jury-rigging of disparate parts to make cohesive wholes that accomplish all manner of bizarre tasks.  This movie is literally STUFFED with amateur mechanical engineering—a doggy-functional elevator, a machine that throws sticks for fetching and can be reloaded, primed AND launched by the dogs themselves, the list just goes on and on.  One particularly fun scene involves the jackass rockers getting a filthy comeuppance via the doggy toilet’s exit chute.

Okay, granted, the plot is based on a children’s book and weaker than wet Kleenex.  But the visuals are pretty solid and there’s an undeniable sort of feel-good feeling to this movie.  PETA itself might well have commissioned this as a commentary on caring for strays of all type, be they dog or human child.  And of course, a nice commentary on the nature of the deeply flawed system that services both stray dogs AND stray human children.  It’s a movie packed to the gills with cute dog, and tons of messages.  Schmaltzy beyond all reason, and packed with plot holes (who owns this hotel property, anyway?  Why did they leave several thousand dollars’ worth of furniture and assorted whatnot buried within to be used as parts?  Dare I ask?  Dare I even CARE?  I think I’m supposed to just forget about these massive plot holes.), but it’s a cuddly little package nonetheless.

If you’re a dog lover, if you can’t get enough of jury-rigged mechanical doodads (guilty as charged—this is why I loved Saw II), and if you’re willing to ignore MASSIVE plot holes that will almost insult your intelligence, then you’re going to love Hotel for Dogs.  They’re not promising anything they didn’t deliver—it’s just up to you if that’s what you want delivered.

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