Irrefutable
After almost fifty years thereafter their debut in 1958 Alvin and his chipmunk brothers Simon and Theodore have returned and are starring in their very own live-action/CGI feature film. The five-time Grammy award winning trio has remained pretty much the same. Simon is still the smart one, Theodore is still the chubby one & Alvin is still...well Alvin. Let me make it perfectly clear though, I certainly didn't have high expectations for this film from the get-go but I can't refute the fact there was something that definitely surprised me about it. (This is part where you assume the cute little critters' re-telling of their rise to fame turned out to be pretty good.)
There's no denying they're cute. Especially Theodore (voiced by one-hit-wonder Jesse McCartney) who was the actual leading munk as opposed to Alvin. The chunky little, green hoodie-wearing guy who's obviously short a few acorns steals most of the spotlight with his adorable innocence. Also, as far cuteness goes there was no scene more touching than the opening of the Christmas gifts with their manager and friend Dave played by Jason Lee. Even the most cynical person would be unable to prevent themselves from smiling during each of their unveilings. However, no matter how cute they may be it doesn't make up for the overall mess of a movie this turned out to be. (This is the part where you question just exactly where I am going with this.)
Jason Lee who earlier this year voiced the lead character in an atrocious movie by the name of Underdog was absolutely lousy as Dave. From his facial expressions to the familiar yell of "AAAALLLLVVIINNNNNN!!!" it all was ridiculously and horrendously forced. Nothing about his character was believable because of this. Oh, but then there's David Cross (who's not even a half-decent actor to begin with) as the money-hungry record executive Ian Hawk. However, for the most part I can honestly say it wasn't all his fault. The feeble screenplay is mainly to blame. Never was there one inkling of cleverness written for him. Also, there's Cameron Richardson as the love interest of Dave who delivered her lines with as much depth as that of an empty childs swimming pool. Ugh, but at this point I'm just beating a dead squirrel thus I shall not continue. (This is the part where the true chipmunk fans are ready to stop reading. However, I urge them not to.)
So poor acting, writing & a few other things I didn't even mention. Let me just put that all aside here and get to my point. The thing that surprised me about 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' was it's ability to end up as an amazing oxymoron. Yes, it's one of the year's worst attempts at a movie. Some might even go as far to say a wasted opportunity to revive the Chipmunks' popularity. However, it's also the best movie of the year for kids. I kid not. After all I am JP Paxton, would I kid you?... OKAY, so there was that misleading (but hilarious) review for 'Bratz', but hey, my reasoning was justified. Anyways, before I get anymore off track, it's true, The Chipmunks will entertain the kiddies more than any other movie released this year. Let's face it, 'The Golden Compass' isn't for everyone, 'Bee Movie' was utterly dumb & 'Shrek the Third' was just plain bad. I guarantee that 'Alvin and the Chipmunks' will ignite uncontrollable laughing from any kid ten years old or younger. The silly jokes, catchy songs & lovable trio are all enough to make this THE movie to take the kids to this holiday season. (This is the part where you stop hating me.)