'Hotel for Dogs' hits theaters this Friday

You won't be able to see the new movie "Hotel for Dogs" until this Friday, but if you're itching for a sneak peek, check out photographer David Strick's Hollywood Backlot for behind-the-scenes photos from the filming.  (Don't worry if the pup in the above photo looks a bit odd; it's a puppet.)

"Hotel for Dogs," which stars Emma Roberts (best-known for her starring role in Nickelodeon's "Unfabulous"), Lisa Kudrow and Don Cheadle, is the story of two orphaned kids who find themselves in a foster home.  Things go from bad to worse when they learn that they can't bring their beloved dog, a Jack Russell named Friday, along with them. 

You can probably guess that hijinks and hilarity ensue from there, and the kids pick up more needy dogs on the way, creating a home for them in the abandoned hotel to which the title refers.  It's based on the novel by Newbery Award-winning children's author Lois Lowry.

In his review of the movie, MSNBC's Alonso Duralde says:

If you’re the sort of person who checks out CuteOverload.com for pictures of puppy baskets, sleeping kitties and frolicking pandas, this is definitely the movie for you.

That might sound like a slight to some people, but to us it's a definite positive.  Plus, "Hotel for Dogs" means you can finally watch a Don Cheadle movie with your kids (unlike, say, Hotel Rwanda or Boogie Nights).

Correction:  "Hotel for Dogs" is based on the novel by children's author Lois Duncan, not Lois Lowry as we originally stated.

--Lindsay Barnett

Photo: David Strick

Comments

[Lois Lowry]

Ooops! I did write a "dog book" once, long ago, but it certainly wasn't this one! Grrrr.

Lois Lowry

[Lucy]

Can’t ask for a better FAMILY movie! This movie was made for kids big and small yea sure some of the ideas in this movie are a little far fetched but what kids movie isn’t.