Review of Hotel for Dogs (2009) by Caspar R — 13 Dec 2009

Hotel for Dogs is not an intrinsically bad movie, it's just not one I personally liked. Dog people and very young kids may.

My first big issue was with the music. When this movie managed to intrigue me (yes, there were some moments), it was the corn-ball music that quickly lost me again. The entire musical score seemed to be written in a constant, exuberant swell. It felt like that same, formulaic, hackey piece that has plagued cheesy kids movies since the eighties. The music in Hotel for Dogs turned potentially touching moments into absolute hokey pokey.

I would never trash a movie just for its music, though. No, instead I'm going to add that as far as plot twists or narrative conflicts go, this movie had the most benign I have ever seen. Nobody was in any danger and everything was just way too easy. Even a kid might feel hoodwinked.

The gadgets were cool, if not disappointingly scarce, and the dogs were fine, as well. They were not too cute and not too silly. I even liked Jake T. Austin, who plays the young boy in this movie. He is going to make a splash as the lead in a great kids movie someday. Just not this time.