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Dunston Checks In
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ken Kwapis
Screenplay by	John Hopkins Bruce Graham
Story by	John Hopkins
Produced by	Todd Black Joe Wizan
Starring	Jason Alexander Faye Dunaway Eric Lloyd Rupert Everett Glenn Shadix Paul Reubens
Cinematography	Peter Lyons Collister
Edited by	Jon Poll
Music by	Miles Goodman
Production company	Fox Family Films[2]
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	January 12, 1996 (1996-01-12)
Running time	88 minutes
Countries	Canada[1] United States
Language	English
Budget	$20 million[3]
Box office	$9.9 million

Dunston Checks In is a 1996 comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis. The film stars Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Eric Lloyd, Rupert Everett, Glenn Shadix and Paul Reubens. The film received negative reviews and was a box-office failure, grossing $9.9 million against a budget of $20 million.

At the prestigious five-star Majestic Hotel, guest Lionel Spalding and his dog Neil fall victim to an overflowing fountain, the result of a prank by Kyle and Brian Grant, sons of the hotel's widowed manager Robert. Though disappointed in his sons' behavior, Robert promises them a vacation in Barbados - a trip that's already been postponed twice. However, the strict hotel owner Elena Dubrow forces another cancellation due to the upcoming Crystal Ball, where they expect a critic from the Le Monde Traveller Organization to potentially award the hotel a sixth star.

The hotel welcomes "Lord" Rutledge, a jewel thief mistaken by Mrs. Dubrow for the expected critic, who arrives with his orangutan Dunston. Having trained both Dunston and his deceased brother Samson as theft accomplices since birth, Rutledge maintains cruel control over Dunston, who yearns to escape his criminal life. During one of Rutledge's schemes, Kyle accidentally releases a pulley, sending Brian tumbling down a laundry chute. In the ensuing chaos, Dunston escapes Rutledge's supervision.

Kyle discovers and befriends the fugitive orangutan, promising him protection. However, Dunston's presence creates havoc throughout the hotel, disrupting Spalding's exercise routine and Mrs. Angela Dellacroce's massage session. Robert, upon discovering the orangutan, hires animal control specialist Buck LaFarge to remove him.

After LaFarge's initial capture attempt fails, the Grant brothers hide Dunston in the royal suite under the alias Dr. Lam Binh Ngoc. Rutledge tracks down Dunston through his substantial banana orders, ties up and gags Kyle, leaving him in a hotel bath tub, but both he and Dunston escape to the Crystal Ball. Armed with photographic evidence of Rutledge's true identity featuring Dunston and Samson, the boys alert their father. While Robert confronts Rutledge in the kitchen, the brothers search for Dunston while evading LaFarge and Mrs. Dubrow. The situation culminates in Dunston pushing Mrs. Dubrow into the celebration cake.

In the aftermath, Rutledge is arrested, LaFarge apologizes to Dunston (who responds with a punch), and Robert finally stands up to Mrs. Dubrow, who fires him, while the true critic is revealed to be none other than Spalding, who, having suffered numerous indignities throughout his stay, declares Mrs. Dubrow has reduced the hotel's rating from five stars to one. Afterwards, Mrs. Dubrow's much kinder husband Victor arranges for the Grants to manage a Majestic Hotel in Bali, where they can keep Dunston. They extend a peace offering to Spalding with complimentary accommodations, though the gesture is somewhat undermined when Dunston drops a coconut on his head in the final scene.

Writer John Hopkins had written a spec script revolving around two young brothers living in a large, prestigious New York hotel managed by their father.^[6] Hopkins' agent shopped the script around to various studios who were uninterested in the project until producers Todd Black and Joe Wizan seeing potential in the project optioned it and hired Hopkins to re-write the script and add in the plot point of an orangutan.^[6] The project was then retitled Prime Mates and became the subject of competing bids between Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox with Fox eventually acquiring the script in April 1993.^[6] Dunston Checks in became one of three active monkey/ape films announced to be in development alongside Ed (then known as You Should See Them Play) at Universal Pictures and Monkey Trouble (then known as Pet) at New Line Cinema.^[7] Uncredited rewrites were provided by Eliot Wald and Andrew Kurtzman.^[8]

The animal action was detailed by the American Humane Society. Artificial animals were used in several shots.^[9]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of 18 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4.1/10.^[10] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 54 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[11]

Desson Howe and Rita Kempley of The Washington Post referred to the film by saying "it ain't half bad", and a "plucky, prank-filled family farce" respectively.^[12] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times stated that Dunston Checks In "is a delightful and funny family film of exceptional high style", "as light as a soufflé and just as delicious", and "plays like a tribute to the resourceful, unpretentious studio productions of the past".^[13] According to an article published in the Chicago Tribune, "The cast is talented, the hide-and-seek action is silly (not killing), and the bond between a sweet little boy and the adorable ape is touching."^[14]

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on a scale of A+ to F.^[15]

Faye Dunaway's performance in the film and in The Chamber earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated at the 18th Youth in Film Awards (Young Artist Awards) for Best Family Feature Film: Musical or Comedy, and Eric Lloyd for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Actor Age Ten or Under. The film was successful at the box office in India, where it was dubbed in Hindi and retitled Ek Bandar Hotel Ke Andar (transl. A monkey inside the hotel).^[16]

Dunston Checks In was much more successful in home video than in theaters. As of April 1997^[update] the studio had an estimated $41.6 million in video sales, receiving 75%, greatly exceeding box office gross.^[17] The film was released by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on VHS on May 28, 1996. It was released on DVD on May 28, 2002, and re-released on March 18, 2014.

• Dunston Checks In at IMDb
• Dunston Checks In at Rotten Tomatoes
• Dunston Checks In at Box Office Mojo