‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’ is a
Barely Bearable yet Somehow Entertaining Kiddy Flick
-----When a movie integrates a horrifically bad pun into its title, torture usually follows. Offering the same kiddy bait of its predecessor, the first ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks,’ this CG outing tones down on the chipmunks reciting pop songs, and actually gets some ridiculous yet mildly pleasing humor from its live action adult comedians. So bad it’s good and utterly harmless are the words that describe this children’s movie that is not only bearable for adults, it’s actually kind of funny if taken in the right light.
-----Alvin and the chipmunks return in this sequel as genuine pop stars. But when one of Alvin’s shenanigans goes too far, Dave winds up injured and in the hospital. Now it will be up to the chipmunks’ slacker cousin to take care of them, as they’re simultaneously faced with the proposition of going to school. It sounds pretty terrible, but watching TV’s Chuck (of ‘Chuck’)-Zachary Levi-talk to computer generated squirrels like he means it is entertaining on its own self-parodying level.
-----Justin Long (‘Old Dogs’), Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney lend their voicing talents to Alvin, Simon, and Theodore respectively. They’re prominently indifferent variations of the characters’ typical voices, and nothing to really take note of. Playing their owner Dave is the typically funny Jason Lee. His role is much reduced from the first film, and like pretty much everyone else in the cast; it’s a paycheck. Playing the chipmunks’ main caretaker is the aforementioned Zachary Levi, as a video gaming girl-flustered bum. It’s actually consistently entertaining watching him ridiculously talk to what we all know are probably just three green bean bags. He plays along so shamelessly and goofy in his cliché-ridden character that I couldn’t help but chuck-le (a demonstration of the puns seen in the film and its title) at his antics. Returning as evil producer Ian is David Cross (‘Kung Fu Panda’) in a role as consistently laugh-out-loud bad as Levi’s. You can just see them on the set saying “It’s a paycheck…it’s a paycheck… it’s a paycheck.” It’s definitely a so-bad-it’s-mildly-entertaining scenario, but the fact remains that if your kids want to see it, this is far more entertaining than many of this year’s other kiddy flicks like the dreadful ‘Aliens in the Attic’ or the dull ‘Imagine That.’
-----I won’t spend much time telling you what’s wrong with ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,’ because most of it should be painfully apparent. And while much of the shameless idiocy of the film also leads to its bizarrely entertaining outcome, there are some things about it that remain bad no matter which way you spin them. The singing, though far less prominent here than with its predecessor, is still annoying when it is present. The “Chippette” scenes and their rendition of “All the Single Ladies” also borders on human torture. Other than that the short runtime allows for a fairly fast pace and a quick plot wrapped up neatly as you exit the theater in much less pain than you had perceived, and maybe even holding a mild enjoyment of the film’s unabashed attempts at bad humor with you.
-----Technically the film is a sound if unspecialized production. The chipmunks all look average, though are thankfully much less “gangster” than the marketing scheme would suggest. I’d even go so far as to say I thought Theodore was damn cute, and I’d rather watch a film about his innocent naivety than Alvin’s blatant cockiness or Simon’s duties as a mediator between the two. But hey, those crazy chipmunks have got some chemistry, that’s why the cartoon became famous in the first place. Getting back to the film, there are also some pretty random references, including one to ‘The Silence of the Lambs,’ that won’t even make a blimp on the radar for most anyone who hasn’t seen that film. Other than that the music is pretty annoying, mostly because much of it stems from the Chipmunks themselves or otherwise kiddy genre generics. The stunts are also pretty run of the mill and often take the forgiving and uncaring child audience as an excuse for plenty of conveniently off-camera cop-out spills.
-----I can’t really defend ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’ as anything more than barely passable kiddy entertainment. And yet, as the Box Office once again suggests, small children actually full heartedly enjoy these films. It is with this in tow that I found the film pleasurable enough to give a completely reserved recommendation. If your small children don’t want to see it, make no effort to seek this one out. However, if they do want to see it, and you can delay their urge until a rental, there’s a mindset I found effective to mildly enjoy this film. Simply consider the fact that grown men do this for a living and then really, how can you not laugh at the ridiculously bad jokes that are thrown out with such unashamed enthusiasm? I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but you could do worse when it comes to films directed solely at the young children demographic. It’s much like my recommendation of this year’s wacky Robert Rodriguez film, ‘Shorts.’ I just went in as open minded as I could, and came out with a half-decent experience, keeping kids in mind. And that’s not to say you wouldn’t be better off with some other all ages films, like this year’s ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’ or even ‘Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.’ But if your kids want it, the fact remains they’ll probably get it; and ‘Alvin in the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’ is better than most live action kiddy flicks being put out today.
|
