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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 01/17/2009 : 19:54:55
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Pl�cido Domingo's a mutt. That Pl�cido Domingo? Yep. Or should I say Si? I feel a Marx Bros routine coming on.
Now, while it ain't on the same comedy planet let alone in the same kennel as the Brothers Marx, and neither Pl�cido nor the dog he voices get to sing, BHC is miles funnier than I was expecting. No, I don't mean I was expecting expecting ... just, oh, you know. Shut up and get on with the review. OK
So why am I meandering all over the doggy path - well that's a bit how the film starts off. We think we're into one story starring Jamie Lee Curtis as Vivian, a high-powered jet-setting LA mega-mogul of fashion. For pampered pooches. And she's got her own widdle pampered pooch, oh yes she does, yes she does, good girl, who's mama's baby. Ahem ...
But no - she's only there to broker some paw-shaking between her adored chihuahua Chloe and what will become the real key players in the dog pound. We've got her niece Rachel - who manages a transition from Bev Hills ditz to someone almost ready to take her place in the adult hood. We get to meet Sam, Viv's Mexican gardener uhm I mean landscaper played by real charmer Manola Cardona who also happens to have a chihuahua called Papi as his man's best friend.
But then we realize this tale ain't about people - well, ok, really it is, but only in the contemplation afterward - no, the onscreen tale is about wagging tails and how prissy Chloe, in her cashmere dress and matching bootees sets off on an inadvertant adventure when Rachel's left to dog-sit while Viv jets off around the dog-fashion capitals of the world.
I think Disney planned this as children's film, but judging by the amount of times I watched tykes trip in and out of the cinema, I get the feeling it's not for them really. The funny lines - and there are some - the talking dogs - and there are many - and the subtle point about haves and have-nots, about south-of-the-border stereotypes ... all of that zips right over their heads like a frisbee flying over a puppy.
It's the kind of film that moms drag their kids to hoping they can meet somewhere in the cultural middle. But the story of spoiled dog mixing with real life and learning life and love lessons - well, been there done that, not least in Lady and the Tramp, which may not have had such advanced special fx but had a far better script, some great tunes, and Rosemary Clooney, aunt of the now more famous George.
Still there is charm, and Drew Barrymore as Chloe acquits herself well, as does Andy Garcia as the hard-bitten German Shepard who becomes her protector.
I'd probably give it 2� woofs.
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Salopian 
"Four ever European"
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Posted - 01/20/2009 : 11:27:31
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Horrible film. 1/5
Strangely, this was my third Mexico-kidnap film in two days, the previous ones being Julia and Trade. Such clusters seem to happen surprisingly often -- I guess it's like a specialised form of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. Anway, it doesn't stand up so well against those!
I didn't expect much, but thought it would be a solid 2/5. Talking animals isn't a promising concept but Babe proves that it can be awesome. Here, though, it is appalling in terms of both special effects and what the poor critters are made to say.
I hate when pampered animals in films are snobbish/afraid of dirt etc. It's little more original, but it's funnier (and more accurate) when they are fuming about what their owners put them through. Yes, yes, I know that the story is really about such people, but it annoys me all the same.
The film improves a little, i.e. as Chloe becomes more normal, and the feral Chihuahuas are quite funny, but that only takes it from a low 1/5 to a high 1/5.
I wondered whether Papi was supposed to be a Chihuahua as well. He looked liked a different breed to me even though they vary considerably -- his muzzle was much larger. |
Edited by - Salopian on 01/20/2009 13:18:55 |
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Beverly Hills Chihuahua
