Monday, February 11, 2008

Alvin and the Chipmunks...Yes please!


I was weary first heading into the theater, but Alvin and the Chipmunks captured me right from the start with its amazingly awesome rendition of “You Had a Bad Day”, the song made popular by American Idol; Which in the movie, is sung in three parts by Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (the cutest one). That was it for me, if there was going to be more sweet trios, I was in for the long haul! I only became more impressed as the movie went on, Stephen Hunter on the other hand, did not feel the same way, he describes the chipmunks as,
“Alvin and his buddies, Simon and Diseased Scurvy Rodent -- oh, sorry, folks, I
mean Theodore!”

I simply could not disagree more! These rodents happen to be some of the cutest things I have ever seen, and their antics are not only loveable, but hilarious as well. When Dave (surrogate Father to the chipmunks) first rejects the chipmunks and literally throws them out in the rain-a little dramatic, I know-even he cannot deny their loveable nature and is forced to take them back in.
The acting in the film is actually done pretty professionally as well. First of all, I just really like Jason Lee, who plays Dave Seville. I think he did a very good job becoming a believable character, regardless of the ridiculousness of the movie. David Cross on the other hand, well, I agree with Hunter on that point,
“…David Cross's hammy over-acting as the record exec who wants to corrupt the
boys…”
I own some of David Cross’s standup, and let me just say, it is VERY far from the humor in Alvin and the Chipmunks. I believe that Cross knew what he was doing with his “hammy over-acting”, either way, it was still “hammy over-acting”. The chipmunks on the other hand, were computer animated; soo…their acting was great (?). I can’t decide if I liked the computer generated chipmunks or not, I guess I would like them more than actual chipmunks, but maybe plain old cartoon would be good as well. Hunter appears to dislike the computer animated chipmunks, he elaborates,
“--is new computer technologies. So this film features what look like living
plush toys.”
Overall, I truly enjoyed this movie a lot. It was fun to be a kid again for that hour and a half, and I say you should not listen to Hunter when he says,
“But youngsters who love the shrieky singing and don't notice the tapioca of the
story will probably get their money's worth. Parents: Bring earplugs.”
The singing is actually pretty good, I mean, besides the shrieking, they sing in perfect harmony to tunes you can sing along to. And if you’re not enthralled with the music, then I assure you that your heart will melt during the scene when Theodore curls up in Dave’s bed, watch for it! It’s so cute, it’s almost comic, which is what makes it so amazing!

2 comments:

Mr. K said...

Claire,

Congrats on resolving your blog nightmare! I guess a movie like Alvin and the Chipmunks is critic-proof, since it's made for kids. I like what you said about feeling like a kid again for a few hours -- I feel the same way when I watch sports movies like The Natural, Field of Dreams, etc.

mn girl said...

HELLZ YEAH!! oh man this was an amazing movie! and congrats on not having your post deleted by those darn robots!