"Hotel for Dogs" Boring Sets Up Shop

Genres: Comedy, Kids/Family and Adaptation
Running Time: 1 hr. 40 min.
Release Date: January 16th, 2009 (wide)
MPAA Rating: PG for brief mild thematic elements, language and some crude humor.
Distributors: Paramount Pictures

Directed by: Thor Freudenthal

JJ Rating: C

Andi (Emma Roberts) and her brother Bruce (Jake T. Austin) lost their parents and have been in and out of several homes over the years. Their new guardians do not want any pets in the house. They have a pet dog named Friday that they keep in the bedroom and on the terrace of the apartment. What ends up happening is a new place is tripped upon with more dogs and because of several strays an idea of a hotel emerges. Hotel for Dogs.

The dogs were entertaining. That is a for sure thing. The humans were alright. It's like some actors were doing this because they wanted to do a kid's film for whatever kids are in their lives. It wasn't like a career booster or one that they'd want to write down on their resume.

The total drag was the storyline. It dropped anchor 1/3 of the way through the movie and dragged from then on out. It's like if Captain Hook was flying around in his pixie dust covered ship and decided to drop anchor in a downtown area and it just tore up the concert and buildings sending debris every which-a-way. I was being hit with boring in every direction and I fell asleep. This could also be because I took allergy medicine but I'm so not making excuses for this movie.

Nickelodeon movies (sans the some of their cartoon features) seem to be ideas that are good for 45 minutes. Then they take those ideas and stretch them the length of a motion picture and it just can't withstand the brutal abuse and they end up completely showing signs of wear and tear.

Hotel for Dogs is the movie that I would dread if my kids liked it. I would not want to buy it for them because I would not want to be subjected to its meager existence time and time again.

The director has one cool thing going for him and that's his first name. I would love to be named Thor. That's freaking awesome, but has nothing to do with his ability or inability to direct a great picture.

I would like to understand the procedure in getting the input from the writer of the book that's being turned into a movie. Because Hotel for Dogs lost something in that transition that was paramount for it be successful more so with being good than the amount of money it has or will generate. I can't even say this movie is for the dogs, because that might be insulting to the hard working dogs in the film as well as those adoring pets outside the film.