YMMV / Dunston Checks In

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Ms. Dellacroce's goal at the Majestic Hotel wasn't just to take part in the Crystal Ball, but was also a search for a new man. Despite supposedly being married, she's clearly interested in Rutledge the few times they have scenes together, and she decided to do it with William, the hotel's masseur, under the belief that he just gave her an incredible massage (not knowing that Dunston did it). It's left ambiguous what happened to Mr. Dellacroce since all she says when Rutledge asks about him is that he's "not here," which could mean a multitude of things. She says something similar to William as well.
• Awesome Music:
  • The movie's main theme that you hear at the start as the Majestic Hotel gets ready to start the day makes for quite a catchy tune.
  • Blair's "Have Fun, Go Mad!", which plays when Dunston sneaks into the spa and when the credits roll right after Dunston drops a coconut on Lionel Spaulding's head. A very catchy song, by the way.
• Cliché Storm: The film mostly plays it safe when it comes to family movie tropes, which was a common complaint among critics.
• Crosses the Line Twice: Kyle walking Neil on the dog walk on the upper levels of the building....Only for the dog to break free when he smells Dunston and leap off the building. By itself, a poor animal sending itself plummeting to its doom isn't funny. When it turns out he landed safely in a pile of trash? Hilarious.
• Harsher in Hindsight: All of the slapstick abuse Lionel Spaulding is put through - particularly in the very last shot of the film - is a lot less amusing in light of Glenn Shadix's death in 2010 from a head injury.
• Moral Event Horizon: Rutledge crosses it when he not only takes Dunston away (he explicitly states that he intends to kill him), but also ties up and gags Kyle when he finds Dunston's hotel suite.
  • Arguably, he crossed it before the events of the film, as it's made pretty damn obvious that he has already killed Dunston's elder brother Samson.
• Nightmare Fuel: Whatever Lord Rutledge did to Samson, it must have been a horrible way to go.
• So Okay, It's Average: General viewer consensus is that it's an enjoyable family film that has many opportunities to be better, yet fails to take advantage of those opportunities.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The fact that Dunston had an older brother, and one who is strongly implied to have been killed by his owner. It's apparent that Dunston for all his antics is still hurting over this.
  • The fact that Kyle and Brian's mother is also deceased. It's glossed over and carries little bearing on the plot, but is still a sad revelation regardless. It's particularly apparent when Kyle says "Good night" to the picture of his mother that he keeps by his bed:
    Robert: You still say good night to Mom?
    Kyle: ...yeah. That's not...weird, is it?
    Robert: ...no.
• The Woobie:
  • Kyle certainly counts as nobody believes his claims about Dunston being loose in the hotel; Dunston himself has it even worse, being forced to work for an abusive owner who had already killed his brother when he was no longer of any use to him.
  • Poor, poor Lionel Spaulding, who just cannot seem to catch a break from his constant bad luck.

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