| Movie DescriptionThe movie begins in Central City. Siblings Andi and Bruce are shown defrauding a pawn shop owner to raise money to feed their dog, Friday. Soon afterwards, the pawn shop owner approaches them with a police officer, pointing Andi out as the culprit. As she tries to talk her way out of trouble, Bruce's backpack falls and its contents spill out, revealing his scamming supplies. They are arrested and taken to the local police station, where their social worker, Bernie, meets them. He scolds them and says that because they have changed foster homes so many times, they may be separated the next time they do so. Bernie then takes them home to their foster parents, aspiring rock stars Lois and Carl Scudder. The two are angry that the children have missed dinner (and delayed band practice) and Bernie takes responsibility. Andi and Bruce are sent to their room for the night, where they have hidden Friday from their guardians.
In the morning, Friday wanders out of the room into the apartment and is almost seen by Lois. The kids attempt to get him back into their room, trying to hide what they are doing, and eventually do so without Lois realizing what is going on. Once back in the room, however, Friday uses a homemade elevator, designed and built by Bruce, to leave the apartment through the window and is picked up by animal control. Andi and Bruce are desperate to find Friday and scour the area looking for him. They enter a pet store and ask the manager, Dave, and employee Heather, whether they have seen Friday. Neither of them has, but they suggest visiting the local pound to see if he is there. At the pound, Andi and Bruce discover Friday is indeed there, but must bribe one of the officers to get him released. On the way home, they encounter a burglary in progress at a store and as the police arrive they flee to a nearby abandoned hotel to avoid being fingered as the culprits. Friday again gets away from them and they search the building to find him. As they do, they hear strange noises – which they discover to be two dogs that have taken up shelter. With them is Friday, and Andi and Bruce decide to leave him in the hotel for the night and return home.
The next day, the two kids steal from the refrigerator to take to the hungry dogs. At the hotel, they find that one of the dogs howling because the shades had been drawn. The kids return to the pet store to get more food, and lie to Dave, claiming that their parents are dog rescuers. Heather follows them back to the hotel and announces that she wants to help. They are later joined by another kid, Mark. Bruce builds a number of contraptions to keep the dogs fed and entertained while they are alone in the hotel. They decide to take in all the stray dogs they can find.
Andi is invited to a party. She sneaks out of the apartment and shows up. However, she is recognized by Dave's best friend, Jason who tells Dave and Heather that she is actually a foster child. Upset, she runs from the party to the hotel, where the dogs are running wild. The police storm the hotel, arrest the kids and get the dogs. Bernie and his wife, Carol, tell them that there is nothing more they can do. The dogs are scheduled to be euthanized and Andi and Bruce are sent to separate foster homes. Meanwhile, in the animal control station, Friday escapes from his leash just like what he did from the beginning of the film, and runs to Dave. They pick up Andi and Bruce, sneak into the pound, and release the dogs, which all of them follow the truck with some sausages, but the dogs go to the hotel. As they pass the hotel, however, the dogs run inside and a standoff ensues with the police and an animal control member tells the police to arrest Andi, Bruce, Dave, and Heather. Bernie gives an emotional speech and tells Andi and Bruce that he and Carol are adopting them, the police allow them that the dogs to stay in the hotel. Angry by this, the animal control workers run off outside. Also, Bernie and Carol love dogs and have no problem with the kids keeping Friday. Pressured by the media at the scene, the police are persuaded to allow the dogs to remain at the hotel, which is eventually restored as a full-fledged canine retreat where the kids and even some of the dogs work and the new hotel is like a real hotel with some restaurant, entertainment, salon, adoption, bellboy, rooms, massage and more. |
