Rumor has it that this week the apes will rise. So in honor of our primate cousins and their varied achievements on film, Movieline will honor one great movie ape/monkey/chimp each day who embodies an admirable quality found in monkeykind. Today we're commemorating an orangutan trained as a jewel thief who butts heads with Jason Alexander, Faye Dunaway, Paul Reubens, and Rupert Everett. He is Dunston of Dunston Checks In, and he'll coax you into adoration -- using his bare hands.
Name: Dunston (as played by Sam)
Film: Dunston Checks In
Great Ape Quality: Deception, shiatsu
Yes, Rotten Tomatoes's rating for Dunston Checks In stands at a rough 7 percent, but Dunston outperforms his Tony- and Oscar-winning costars in this 1996 dud. Not only is he a heist-savvy ape with great comic timing, but he's also a fabulous masseuse. He's so great, in fact, that an unsuspecting client mistakes him for a human massage therapist. Naughty, Dunston! Naughty!