Dunston Checks In

Movie review by Erika Milvy, Common Sense Media
Dunston Checks In Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 6+

Silly orangutan brightens lackluster family flick.

PG 1996 89 minutes
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Parents say

age 10+

Based on 2 reviews

Kids say

age 6+

Based on 3 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that there is little to offend or scare in this fluffy film that harks back to the low-concept, unadorned, and mild children's comedies of the '60s and '70s. There's a lot of cartoonish violence and the firing of a rifle-type tranquilizer dart. Sensitive kids might be concerned that Dunston, the orangutan, will be killed but the gun-wielding animal control specialist, but he's not a very threatening figure. The words "hell" and "holy s--t" are each used once and stand out as unnecessary swearing. There are a few depictions of hot-to-trot older women that are executed with the utmost silliness -- mistaking the ape for her handsome masseuse, a woman is turned on by some tushy-slapping -- the randy behavior will go over the heads of young kids.

Community Reviews

Stacey L.
Stacey L. Adult
June 6, 2018
age 13+

I’m might need a new job soon

I was heading out on a school camp for year 5/6. We needed some G rated movies for the bus, I do not have that many. I found my Dunston Checks In DVD and was reminded of how much I loved this movie at their age. I couldn’t wait to show it to them. They loved it! The bus had a beautiful silence over it whilst the movie played. Dunston the orangutan was a crowd favourite, this movie was perfect for children. You can imagine my surprise when one of the characters suddenly yelled “holy shit” at the top of his lungs when he realises there is an orangutan in his 5 star hotel. I have never heard children so quiet in my life. They aren’t allowed to say shit, I’m not allowed to say shit but suddenly this feel good family film, (rated G I’ll remind you) was screaming the word. They all looked at me for answers as a scrambled to find the DVD cover and confirm it was rated G. It’s not often I am speechless but I was this afternoon. All I could do was tell them that this is a G rated movie and clearly they made a mistake with that line. So yeah, that’s dissapointing and let’s hope 43 kids forget that part of the movie and don’t tell their parents even though it’s fresh in their memory because it was the trip home. If they share this if anyone on here has a job available that would really help me out. Cheers

This title has:

Too much swearing
Jessica B.
Jessica B. Adult
February 13, 2018
age 6+

Good movie, bad language is totally unnecessary

Great family movie, however, there is some cussing and one scene where Costanza is talking under his desk and a man asks "why is he talking to his c--k?!" TOTALLY forgot about that part when watching with my kids!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much swearing
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Jason Alexander plays a sweet-natured single dad who manages a five-star hotel and pays scant attention to his two sons who treat the hotel like a playground. Just as the family is about to take a vacation, the dad's manager's intimidating boss (Fay Dunaway) arrives unexpectedly to see to it that her hotel is upgraded to six-star rating. She mistakenly assumes that the visiting hotel critic is the haughty Lord Rutledge (Rupert Everett), but he's actually jewel thief. His stooge is a trained orangutan named Dunston who befriends 10-year-old Kyle. With his girl-crazy's brother's help, Kyle must protect Dunston from the animal catcher and save them from the fiendish thief -- and try to get his father to believe him.

Is It Any Good?

This film has all the ingredients for a predictable yet entertaining (if forgettable) family flick. The premise of two kids let loose in a fancy big hotel is cat nip for the elementary school set -- just think of Eloise and Zack and Cody, but with more bad behavior. The unsupervised bed bouncing Frisbee games and room service banana splits is the stuff on which day dreams are made. And the nonstop parade of monkey mayhem is the cherry on top. Knowing their audience, the filmmakers put Dunston on the chandelier, give him a cigar to smoke, a stuffed animal to snuggle, underwear to put on his head, and a 10-year-old boy to form a loving attachment with.

But beyond the gimmicks and pratfalls, DUNSTON CHECKS IN is nothing to write home about, nothing even to email home about. Paul Reubens' performance is the film's sole spark of non-formulaic storytelling. He is so good at just manipulating his facial muscles as the weird animal control expert that he foils Jason Alexander's limp noodle of a performance. This, one of his first post-Seinfeld roles, reveals how poorly Alexander does kids movies -- or anything but George Costanza.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about animal rights or simply the idea of training animals to do our bidding or entertain. Parents with younger children may simply want to discuss the similarities between humans and apes and the emotions that Dunston displays -- missing his brother, bonding with the young boy, and turning against his jewel thief owner.

Movie Details

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