Dunston Checks In

Name: Dunston Checks In
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Family
Released: January 12, 1996
Duration: 88 min
Rating: 54
Cast: Faye Dunaway, Jason Alexander

1996

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Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 5 Ratings

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5.2

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Dunston Checks In

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Movie Details & Credits

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: January 12, 1996 | PG

Starring: Faye Dunaway, Jason Alexander

Summary: A 5-star hotel turns into a 3-ring circus when an orangutan named Dunston checks in! Dodging his jewel-thieving owner and the frantic hotel manager, Dunston is befriended by the manager's ten-year old son, Kyle, who is determined to help his new friend escape.

Director: Ken Kwapis

Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Family

Rating: PG

Runtime: 88 min

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Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas

Dunston Checks In is a delightful and funny family film of exceptional high style. Read full review

Leonard Klady

Director Ken Kwapis displays a deft touch, balancing realistic elements and outsize characterizations. Pic’s unflagging pace and the unexpectedly witty script by John Hopkins and Bruce Graham complement the simplicity of this comedy construct. Read full review

Mick LaSalle

Dunston Checks In is a fast- moving, well-done farce that both kids and adults will enjoy. Read full review

Dave Kehr

Ken Kwapis' Dunston Checks In contains not a single surprising moment. But it is well crafted enough to squeak by. Kids should get a few laughs from it. Accompanying adults will be only moderately bored. [12 Jan 1996, p.33]

Stephen Holden

The movie should have been a steadily escalating rampage that results in outrageous property damage. Instead, it wastes too much of its time developing the cardboard characters of the hotel manager, Robert (Jason Alexander), and his two mischievous sons, Kyle (Eric Lloyd) and Brian (Graham Sack). Read full review

Marjorie Baumgarten

A crowd-pleaser for the under-10 set judging from the preview audience’s reaction, Dunston Checks In offers a few funny scenes, one-liners, and characters, but not enough to inspire the entire film. Read full review

Michael Wilmington

In the new wave of kiddie animal movies -- "Babe," "Black Beauty," "Gordy," "Fluke," "Roan Inish" and all the rest -- Dunston Checks In is valuable only as a new standard of screenwriting ineptitude. Don't play it again, Sam, at least not with this bunch. Read full review

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User Reviews

pur__0_0__

May 16, 2021

Dunston Checks In is one of the films that we had the DVD of back when I was a kid. I'm not gonna lie, it's a guilty pleasure of mine to watch this silm in spite of all its flaws. And for me it doesn't even come under the "so bad it's good" category. It's a piece of the lore that defines myDunston Checks In is one of the films that we had the DVD of back when I was a kid. I'm not gonna lie, it's a guilty pleasure of mine to watch this silm in spite of all its flaws. And for me it doesn't even come under the "so bad it's good" category. It's a piece of the lore that defines my childhood. It was the first film that I watched in Hindi dub (it's called Ek Bandar Hotel Ke Andar in Hindi). And it was also the movie where I learnt that the film has Hindi dubbing and the characters are not actually speaking in Hindi.

I won't go into the story since I don't want to give any spoilers just in case you accidentally stumbled upon this page and are reading this review. So all I'd tell you is that this is about an orangutan who has been brought to a hotel in order to steal by a thief. There are two mischievous kids of whom the younger one is the protagonist (obviously). The kid manages to befriend the orangutan and then they help catch the thief to save the day. There are a lot of other things also going on and the characters always have a background story, but this was the basic premise of the story.

You know those silly children's films from the 90's that we all watched and had a good time laughing at? Baby's Day Out, Home Alone, Jingle All The Way - It comes under the same category: A mindless comedy not meant to be taken seriously. Though it does make me kinda sad to know people don't exactly like it. And I genuinely don't see a single reason why this film has such poor reviews. It's just like all those movies that we were used to seeing back then. It deserves probably a little more appreciation. Sure it's a bit mindless and a copy of something we have often watched, but still this is too low.… Expand

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84	#84 Best Movie of 1996
48	#48 Most Shared Movie of 1996