HOTEL FOR DOGS

HOTEL FOR DOGS

HOTEL FOR DOGS: B

Films like this you have to watch and review based on the audience they were intended for. Seeing that the demographic is young children and pre-teens, I'd say that the film did a pretty good job.

It was a wholesome, predictable, feel good movie, but I commend the film on not going over the top and being too sappy or fake. It had a few moments of melodrama, but not near as many as I expected.

The story was good, and I appreciated some clever moments throughout the script.

The child actors did pretty well, and it is easy to see the potential talent that Emma Roberts would eventually become in this early role.

Don Cheadle, reminded me a lot of John Stamos, as he was able to take a role that could have easily been cheesy and disingenuous and instead made it sincere and believable.

A few flaws in the script kept this film from getting an A when judging it strictly as a kid's film. No reason was given for why Andi's acquaintances/friends would care one way or the other that she was a foster kid. There was no substance behind that scene, nor was that scene addressed later in the film. It was out of place and unnecessary.

Secondly, the film needed to make a clear decision to either deal with the topic of shelter dogs being put down or to leave it alone. It instead shined a flashlight on the subject for a brief moment and then backed away quickly. I'd have appreciated either leaving this topic alone completely or addressing it as a coming of age transition for both Emma and Bruce.

Overall this is a good film that I would recommend to anyone that has small to pre-teen aged children, or people that let occasionally let their girlfriend's pick out what they watch like me.

And lastly thumbs up to the fact that all of the dogs used in this film were shelter dogs, that were trained and then adopted out to various loving families.