Product Details

• Actors: Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Eric Lloyd, Rupert Everett, Graham Sack
• Directors: Ken Kwapis
• Writers: Bruce Graham, John Hopkins
• Producers: Jason Blumenthal, Joe Wizan, John T. Kretchmer, Rodney Liber, Todd Black
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• VHS Release Date: May 28, 1996
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304017049
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,752 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

High society gets a dose of monkey business in this family-friendly bit of simian slapstick. Less foul and more fun than Clyde from the Clint Eastwood comedies, Dunston is the practical-joking orangutan partner of foppish jewel thief Rupert Everett. Making his escape in a five-star New York hotel, Dunston lands in the protective care of 10-year-old Eric Lloyd, the high-spirited son of harried hotel manager Jason Alexander, and together they turn the snooty social event of the year into a zoo. Faye Dunaway is Alexander's overbearing boss just aching for a comic comeuppance, and Paul "Pee-wee Herman" Reubens dons a mauve tuxedo as Buck La Farge, animal-control specialist. Would you believe the monkey upstages them all? Though hardly the smartest comedy around, this is a cute, cuddly little barrel full of monkeyshines just made for the younger crowd. Rated PG for one (yelled) word. --Sean Axmaker

Product Description

A five star hotel turns into a 3-ring circus when an orangutan named Dunston checks in. Jason Alexander and Faye Dunaway star in this hilarious romp about an orangutan who gets loose in the elegant Majestic Hotel on the eve of the social event of the season. Dodging his jewel-thieving owner and the frantic hotel manager, Dunston is befriended by the manager's ten-year old son, Kyle, who is determined to help his new friend escape. Filled with laughter and comic high-jinks, "Dunston Checks In" is "a steady stream of giggles for those who get a kick out of monkey business." (Henry Sheehan, Orange County Register)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fun movie, August 30, 2001

By 

jasenao (Dothan, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dunston Checks in [VHS] (VHS Tape)

You might expect "Dunston Checks In" to be a kiddy or cutesy show, and in a way it is, but it can also be a good family movie for anybody who likes comedies. A manager of a 5-star hotel in New York, Mr. Grant (Jason Alexander), has a great job, but he has to watch every step he takes because if he makes one mistake in the eyes of the owner, Mrs. Dubrow (Faye Dunaway), he could lose his high paying job and go from living in a 5-star hotel to something not so nice. Mr. Grant has two kids to raise, but things just might go haywire when an orangutan starts hanging out at the hotel.

But not to fret, not only is the orangutan named Dunston real smart, he can also make simple things hilarious. "Dunston Checks In" isn't a groundbreaking comedy and it's not that original, but it is fun to watch, and it can be funny. I recommend anybody who likes comedies that feature an animal as the main star to at least rent "Dunston Checks In," if not buying it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dunston = Brilliance, December 17, 2000

By 

Todd Gray (Holt, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dunston Checks in [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Ah, the simple pleasures in life. Monkey movies are getting to be few and far between, with the bad ones overtaking the good. (Did anyone see Ed with Matt LeBlanc, yeah, i didn't think so) All those that feel that the genre of monkey movies is almost dead should see the brilliant Dunston Checks In. This film has it all: a monkey that wreaks havoc in a swanky hotel, and Jason Alexander really overacting. Jason, lighten up bud! you are in a monkey movie! The real pleasure comes in knowing that this film was an attempt to breath life into the monkey movie genre, a field that has been over looked by the Oscars for numerous years. The only problem with this film is that it is far too short. When will filmakers realize that monkey films should be epics, not 90 minute comedies. Give me an epic monkey movie over the same old Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy garbage anyday. Dunston, i think i speak for everyone when i say: I love you!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great family fun!, April 17, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dunston Checks In (DVD)

"Dunston Checks In" is great family fun. The plot involves a chimp who wreaks havoc in a five-star Manhattan Hotel and befriends the manager's young sons in the process. Warm-hearted, funny, and quite entertaining for ages 4 and up. The chimp and his antics are adorable and the acting is quite good, featuring performances by Jason Alexander (as the hotel manager), Faye Dunaway (as a Leona Helmsley-like hotel owner), Rupert Everett (as Dunston's owner), and Pee-Wee Herman.