After nearly a month off I'm quite pleased to mark our return from the realm of defunct websites that start out with the best of intentions and then shrivel and die in short order. No, that was not to be our fate. We're here to erratically analyze films with no seeming structure or narrative thread.
As such, it seems only natural that I would follow up Rosemary's burst of wide-ranging reviews with a close look at the pinnacle of American cinema in 2009, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel. Babysitting one's younger cousins definitely has its perks from time to time, such as the rare opportunity to see an inspired children's film such as Alvin 2 on the big screen.
I've got to admit that Alvin provided exactly what I was expecting going in. Kudos for that, I guess. One expects that the "plot" will be a combination of Hollywood's most tired cliches from the past quarter century. It is. One expects to see the actors mail it in for the check. They do. One expects the story to be cluttered and far too complicated for the target pre-teen audience to follow. It is. One further expects the addition of female "Chipettes" to lead to over-sexualized dance numbers and innuendo in a film aimed at eight year olds. Thankfully, we are not disappointed.
David Cross is the actor who most needs to make a public apology for his role in Alvin. The man co-hosted the funniest sketch comedy series of my lifetime in the '90s with The Mr. Show on HBO. Earlier this decade, he was pretty funny on Arrested Development. Now it seems like every ounce of edginess and humor has been wrung out of Cross in his quest to make it big. It's pretty sad watching him go through the motions, and he'd be best served to hang it up and go back to stand-up at this point.
But truthfully it's not really a surprise that Hollywood spit out an unnecessary sequel at Christmastime in order to make a quick buck (over 120 million domestically in its first three weeks). At least someone decided that making the chipmunks look like they were "street" (seen here) was a no-no for The Squeakuel. What's sad about the whole affair is how no effort whatsoever was put into the film. The film copies most of the elements of High School Musical, adds some pop music covers, and tosses in a few fart jokes. It might be the most empty moviegoing experience of the year, a movie without any substance whatsoever. Thank god it's going to make 200 million dollars, so we can eagerly anticipate another sequel with a cute tagline in two years. Be still, my beating heart.
I've got to admit that Alvin provided exactly what I was expecting going in. Kudos for that, I guess. One expects that the "plot" will be a combination of Hollywood's most tired cliches from the past quarter century. It is. One expects to see the actors mail it in for the check. They do. One expects the story to be cluttered and far too complicated for the target pre-teen audience to follow. It is. One further expects the addition of female "Chipettes" to lead to over-sexualized dance numbers and innuendo in a film aimed at eight year olds. Thankfully, we are not disappointed.
David Cross is the actor who most needs to make a public apology for his role in Alvin. The man co-hosted the funniest sketch comedy series of my lifetime in the '90s with The Mr. Show on HBO. Earlier this decade, he was pretty funny on Arrested Development. Now it seems like every ounce of edginess and humor has been wrung out of Cross in his quest to make it big. It's pretty sad watching him go through the motions, and he'd be best served to hang it up and go back to stand-up at this point.
But truthfully it's not really a surprise that Hollywood spit out an unnecessary sequel at Christmastime in order to make a quick buck (over 120 million domestically in its first three weeks). At least someone decided that making the chipmunks look like they were "street" (seen here) was a no-no for The Squeakuel. What's sad about the whole affair is how no effort whatsoever was put into the film. The film copies most of the elements of High School Musical, adds some pop music covers, and tosses in a few fart jokes. It might be the most empty moviegoing experience of the year, a movie without any substance whatsoever. Thank god it's going to make 200 million dollars, so we can eagerly anticipate another sequel with a cute tagline in two years. Be still, my beating heart.
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