Dunston Checks In

At the posh Majestic Hotel in Manhattan, Kyle and Brian have to be on their best behavior while their father, hotel manager Robert Grant (played by Jason Alexander) prepares for the hotel's upcoming annual gala. Things get complicated further when his boss, the hotel's owner Mrs. DuBrow (Faye Dunaway) shows up with unwelcome news: The Le Monde travel association is slated to award a sixth star to the most elite five-star hotels in the world, and if the Majestic doesn't get one, he's fired. Meanwhile, a jewel thief (Rupert Everett) and his orangutan Dunston enter the hotel to plan on stealing valuable diamonds. Dunston, however, decides to rebel and have some fun when he runs into Kyle.

Tropes used in Dunston Checks In include:

• Affably Evil: Lord Rutledge.
• Babies Ever After: The final scene shows that Dunston is in Bali and has a baby with his mate.
• Butt Monkey/Chew Toy: Neil the dog's owner is often the victim of pratfalls and other forms of comedic abuse.
• Everything's Better with Monkeys
• Improvised Weapon: The fight in the kitchen. Among the implements used are a ladle, a whisk, and a 20-pound bag of coffee beans. And a wine bottle, almost:

[Rutledge brandishes a wine bottle]
Grant: NO! NO! That's the Chateau Lafite.
Rutledge: [looks at it] Good year.
[puts it away, fighting resumes]

• Mistaken for Special Guest: Grant and Mrs. DuBrow think Lord Rutledge is the Le Monde agent, when really it's Lionel Spaulding.
• Tropical Epilogue: In Bali.
• Trust Me I'm a Doctor: When attempting to hide Dunston in a hotel room, they check him in under a name randomly picked from the phone book, and just for good measure, make him a doctor:

Brian: Got it. Lam Binh Ngoc. Doctor Lam Binh Ngoc. If they think you're a doctor, you can get away with anything.

• Verbal Judo: Between Lord Rutledge, Robert, and Mrs. DuBrow:

Lord Rutledge: Well, from the look of the soup, it appears one of the chefs has a severe hair loss problem. Other than that, it was absolutely delightful. Good night.
[later]
Mrs. DuBrow: Well? How was his meal?
Mr. Grant: Well, I believe he used the words "absolutely delightful".

• Would Hurt a Child: Rutledge takes Kyle captive, warning him that he can make noisy little boys disappear.
  • When Mrs. DuBrow and LaFarge try to shoot at Dunston, Kyle saves Dunston, and DuBrow tries to shoot at Kyle instead, but he gets saved by Dunston.