 KSL Movie Show Review:...
ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS ** By Steve Salles Standard Examiner movie critic GO: if you’re desperate for childhood memories and are still reeling from the recent “Underdog’s” lifting a leg on them. DON’T GO: if watching Simon eating Theodore’s scat seems like an extension of that leg lifting metaphor. I don’t usually start a review like this but frankly it answers the question most have on their minds about this movie. No, it’s not as bad as you think it’s going to be. That’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, but considering I was fully prepared to hate this film, I am mostly grateful and a little surprised I didn’t. Once a personal childhood favorite, I was afraid the zany antics of the 60’s chipmunks would not translate over the four-plus decades and that Alvin, Simon and Theodore would be paraded out of the taxidermist’s collection simply for show and nostalgia. Turns out they’ve aged pretty well. They’re still as cute and as mischievous as ever, if only their grownup counterparts could have fared as well. The film offers a little prequel setup as we learn the three chipmunks once lived in the top of a noble pine tree deep in the California Sierras. Their home gets chosen to adorn the lobby of Jet Records for Christmas, where fate throws them together with struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee). He has given up on his music after a latest turndown from Jet Record’s chief Ian (David Cross). Seville is told his stuff isn’t fresh, but when he realizes these pesky little rodents can sing, he knows he’s struck gold. Overnight, he pens “The Chipmunk Song” (you might know it better as “Christmas, Don’t Be Late”) and the Chipmunks become an instant sensation. All along Dave realizes that the Chipmunks are young and fragile, but their new “Uncle Ian” sees them as a money machine. He might lavish them with gifts, but he also expects them to perform to the point of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the Chipmunks love all their new toys and fame and think Dave has been trying to hold them back. They will eventually realize that he has only had their best interest at heart, but since it’s a 90-minute movie, that plot point will be stretched longer than a salt water taffy pull. The result is the kiddies will get restless two-thirds the way through, which will trickle down to mom and dad, right up until they hear that second famous chipmunk song, “Witch Doctor,” with an annoying hip-hop twist. You don’t remember that one? Does “oh-ee-oh-ah-ah, ting tang, walla walla, bing bang” bring back any memories? I’m gonna give you a moment so you can sing it out loud, confirming to your family that you have indeed lost your mind. So, other than opening a flood gate of memories, this new “Alvin and the Chipmunks” does very little to scratch that itch, but just hearing Dave yell, “Alvin!” and he respond, “Okay!” was all I was really hoping for anyway.
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