|
|
Movie Review: Beverly Hills Chihuahua
‘Chihuahua’ a decent animal flick
By Rachel Shepard
Special to 2theadvocate.com
|
PLAY OFFICIAL TRAILER
Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) is a prissy, spoiled Chihuahua living in the lap of luxury in Beverly Hills. Viv (Jamie Lee Curtis), Chloe’s owner, treats her as if she is her child by giving her pedicures, gourmet meals and diamond studded collars. When Viv is suddenly called away to Europe for business, she asks her niece, Rachel (Piper Perabo), to take care of Chloe.
Instead of following Viv’s careful instructions, Rachel and her friends decide to take a trip to Mexico and she takes Chloe along for the ride.
Chloe is disgusted at Rachel and runs away, but is kidnapped and ends up on an adventure fighting to get back to her home in Beverly Hills.
“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is great for the younger kids. The action is fast-paced, so a younger audience never has to wait for something to happen, and it’s short enough at 91 minutes to keep them from getting restless.
Many of the latest movies geared toward children are able to entertain the entire family, because they touch on multiple levels of humor -- the easy one liner, the physical absurdities, the sardonic quick wit, etc. While “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” provides the kids with cheap laughs from silly jokes, this movie lacks a level of humor that keeps the adults entertained as well.
The acting from the actual people was average. However, when the actors play supporting roles to tiny, cuddly dogs that fit in handbags, it’s hard to compare. With that said, the voices for the talking canines were great. Barrymore -- along with Andy Garcia, George Lopez and Cheech Marin -- did an excellent job lending their voices to give life to each animal. They really gave a distinct character and personality to each dog.
Because this movie is from Disney, you can expect the wholesome themes of discovering who you are and the don’t-judge-a-book-by-its-cover spiel to run it’s course through the film. Unfortunately, don’t expect any of this to be presented in new or interesting ways. This is probably the hundredth animal movie to come out of Disney and it is certainly not the best or most original -- except that the main characters are Chihuahuas.
I wasn’t expecting much going into the film because the trailer seemed to portray this dancing Chihuahua that seemed ridiculous and culturally insulting. The movie was much more interesting and adventurous than the trailer. This is the first time in awhile that the movie was actually better than the trailer.
Children will love and be entertained by the movie, but don’t expect a great feel good, inspirational story. It’s tolerable enough for adults if they don’t mind the clichés. However, as family-friendly films are sometimes hard to come by, there are no worries about what kind of principles the kids will pick up from this film.
