Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Where do you start with something like this? What is there to say about
a film that is as fluffy as the fur on the ass of a CG Chipmunk? The
thing that struck me as I sat there was that there is clearly some
mileage still to be had from contemporary songs being performed as if
the singer has just inhaled a huge hit of helium. It wasn’t just the
little kids who giggled at hearing Beyonce’s Single Ladies performed by
female chipmunks. I can’t tell you how sad this makes me feel about the
humanity.
Jason Lee, Zachary Levi, Wendy Malick, David Cross. The voices of
Justin Long and Christina Applegate among others. All actors with a
real gift for comedy, all of them employed here staring and emoting at
nothing, waiting for the fluff to be filled in by the computer.
Technically the film is a clever visual achievement and the speeded up
castrato song list suggests significant money spent just on clearance
rights. The story moves through the required modern screenplay story
arc structure and pace. The whole thing, if you are curious, is about
the chipmunks fitting into high school and winning a music competition.
Oh and meeting and then rescuing their female doppelgangers. Genius.
One of my favourite moments in The Sopranos is when Tony’s nephew
Christopher buys himself a top of the line Apple laptop to write a
screenplay about his Goodfellas life. Frustrated with his failure to
achieve, he complains that he thought the computer would do more of the
work. Which is clearly what the producers of Alvin the Squeakquel have
banked on. Stas’ Wiatrowski www.munkyourself.com
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