(My personal comment)
This film may cause dizziness, nausea, and interrupted sleep. The trailer for Disney's Beverly Hills Chihuahua should disclose potential side effects, the way prescription drug commercials do.In the trailer, a character named Papi (voice by George Lopez) tells the audience about his heritage; he comes from an ancient line of warriors, which allows him to move within the inner circles of the world's most powerful people. But he's a Chihuahua! A troupe of singing and dancing dogs dance on Aztec-like ruins.
To describe this scene as painful is an understatement. The dogs sing "chihuahua" multiple times while Papi raps like Vanilla Ice, in a style that mimics mainstream Hip Hop from the 1990s. Even though the trailer and the poster indicate that Papi is the central character of the film and that the hordes of dogs will be prevalent throughout the picture, this is not the case.
The real "plot" centers on a pampered dog named Chloe (voice by Drew Barrymore). If Paris Hilton's dog got her own life story, this would be it. Chloe is the privileged plaything of fashion designer Vivian (Jamie Lee Curtis). When Vivian has to go abroad for business, she leaves Chloe in the care of her niece Rachel (Piper Perabo). Rachel brings Chloe along on a trip to Mexico, and wouldn't you know it, she gets snatched up off the streets. Now, Chloe must find her way back home, and Rachel must find Chloe before ol' Viv comes back.
The story is really about Chloe discovering what is important in the world and how much she takes for granted. A lot of this personality transformation comes as a result of her new friendship with a loner German Shepherd named Delgado (voice by Andy Garcia). He's a former police dog who lost his sense of smell thanks to the film's villainous dog, El Diablo. He teaches Chloe many lessons but also learns some things too. And Papi? He pines for Chloe, despite constant rejection, and he joins the quest to bring her home.
Let's go back to the horde of Chihuahuas that populate the trailer and poster. They're in the movie for not more than 10 minutes, and their entire presence is ridiculously contrived. Before we meet them, Chloe and Delgado are cornered in the desert by 3 ferocious mountain lions. How will they get out of this, you wonder? At that moment, a swirl of dust looms on the horizon. What could it be? A vehicle? A dust storm? An outtake from The Mummy? Nope, it's a scurrying horde of little dogs. Even for a children's film, this is beyond idiotic.
The voicework is the film's only saving grace. Barrymore is charming as Chloe, striking a good balance in being haughty without coming off as annoying. Papi's undying affection for Chloe is a little sickening, but Lopez is nothing but endearing in the role. Strong supporting voicework also comes from Luis Guzman, Cheech Marin, and Paul Rodriquez.
As good as the voices are, the actual human acting is poor. Piper Perabo sleepwalks through her part, and Sam Cortez does little other than being hot. Jamie Lee Curtis, who made the Freaky Friday remake tolerable, does what she can in a limited role. But even she looks miserable when talking to her dog in arfs and barks over the phone.
A common response to criticisms of movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua is that they're just kids' movies, so why bother picking them apart? It's true that children are generally less discerning in these matters, but that's no excuse. This year alone, films like WALL-E and Kung Fu Panda have proved that children's entertainment can be simultaneously entertaining and high-quality. We shouldn't have to tolerate inane movies like Beverly Hills Chihuahua just because the age of their target audience is in the single-digits.
(Pardon my bad English)
