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Simon, Alvin and Theodore meet some flashy, fellow furry students in “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.” |
It amazes me how parents will shield young children from movies containing objectionable elements such as sex and violence, but cheerfully escort them to see simple-minded movies so soulless and unintelligently constructed that they qualify as child pandering.
And that was the hit comedy “Alvin and the Chipmunks” two years ago.
Now, 20th Century Fox has unleashed “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel,” a follow-up whose singular bit of cleverness resides in its title.
Actor Jason Lee reportedly didn’t have enough time to star in this movie as chipmunk wrangler Dave Seville, so a convenient stage accident puts him in traction at a French hospital for the duration of this insufferable story. (I’m guessing Lee read the script and begged to be let out of making this film, but had to contractually appear in it.)
The adorable chipmunks – Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) – go back home where Dave’s doofus nephew Toby (a comically flatlined Zachary Levi) gets them off to high school every morning.
At school, the jocks make Alvin their mascot because he has great hands (paws?) for catching balls. Seduced by popularity, Alvin leaves Simon and Theodore behind. But that’s not even the main plot. (Read more…)