Film Review: Hotel for Dogs

Published on 12/02/2009 18:54

HOTEL FOR DOGS (U) * DIRECTED BY: THOR FREUDENTHAL STARRING: EMMA ROBERTS, DON CHEADLE, LISA KUDROW

Wetter than a facial from a slobbering St Bernard, this latest family pooch movie (the third this year) is little more than a stray TV film that has somehow managed to secure itself a proper home in cinemas instead of being left out in the cold where it belongs. Aimed squarely at the can't-think-of-anything-better-to-do-with-the-kids end of the family film market, it features lots of dogs doing tricks, as well as the more pitiable sight of the brilliant Don Cheadle giving an honest performance in a film so far beneath his talents he should be wiping it off the bottom of his shoe. Instead, playing a social worker, he generously takes a backseat to some naughty, pooping dogs and Julia Roberts's less-than-talented niece, Emma, cast here as a blandly rebellious 16-year-old orphan who shoplifts with her younger brother (Jake T Austin) to keep their secret pet dog, Friday, in treats – something they've apparently been doing for three years while being bounced through social services. Deciding it's about time Friday has a proper home, they take up refuge in a disused downtown New York hotel, and promptly turn the place into a gadget-strewn, utopian alternative to the pound, covertly rescuing strays (all conveniently free of any diseases that might need adult intervention) from all over the city. Insipid.