"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" Review
| Movie: Beverly Hills Chihuahua * Trailer * Official Site | In Theaters: Oct. 3, 2008 |
| Runtime: 91 minutes | Directed by: Raja Gosnell |
| MPAA Rating: PG for some mild thematic elements |  Gecko Rating: |
“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is one of those movies you go into thinking it could be really cute and funny, or totally miss the mark. In this case, it’s mostly cute and funny, with enough tiny dogs to keep girls of all ages happy.
Drew Barrymore voices the part of Chloe, a pampered Chihuahua who lives in Beverly Hills with her cosmetics mogul “mom,” Viv (Jamie Lee Curtis, who looks great!). Chloe has it all, from cashmere sweaters to designer sunglasses to poolside parties with her equally-pampered pals.
More after the jump…
Hot on her tiny trail is the gardener’s (make that landscaper’s) dog, Papi (voiced by George Lopez), who would like nothing more than to make a home and family with Chloe. But she sees him as “beneath” her and will barely give him the time of day.
When Viv is called away to Europe on business, little Chloe is left in the care of her niece, party-girl Rachel (Piper Perabo), who promptly takes off for Mexico with her friends and Chloe in tow. But Chloe’s had enough of being an after-thought, so she ducks out of the hotel room and lands on the mean streets of Mexico, where she’s picked up by a seedy guy who runs dog-fights.
Poor Chloe! Thank goodness she finds a friend in Delgado (Andy Garcia), a German Shepherd with a secret past. Together, they attempt to get Chloe home, dodging a mean dog-gang headed by Diablo (Edward James Olmos) and boarding a train with other pups to get across the border.
Meanwhile Rachel joins forces with Viv’s landscaper (Nick Zano) and Papi to find Chloe before Viv gets back from Europe.
While I was a little put off by the stereotyping of Mexico as either a place for tourists or a place of mean streets with rough characters, there’s still much to like about this movie. Chloe is cute, cute, cute, and learns a lot about herself and her strength on her journey (she finds her “bark”). And sweet Drew Barrymore is the perfect voice for her.
It’s Disney, so you know there will be some life-lessons and personal growth involved. There’s a great message about looking beyond the surface and seeing the true person (or dog) underneath. It’s so easy to box people into categories based on their looks, social standing, or bank account. And that’s just not right.
Other voices include Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, and Placido Domingo!
Images: Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2008
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1 opinion for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" Review
Box Office: Oct. 3 - 5, 2008
Oct 7, 2008 at 8:40 pm
[…] 1-Beverly Hills Chihuahua, $29.30M […]
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