Beverly Hills Chihuahua Review

I will admit that certain movies made for younger audiences are my guilty pleasure. They have as much to offer adults as to the kids they are targeting. My children who are seven and ten and I had been watching the previews for Beverly Hills Chihuahua for weeks. The clips that they show are really cute and funny. The other day, my two boys had the day off of school so I decided to take them to see it. We don't usually go to the movies because of how expensive it is and normally wait for the DVD to come out. This one looked so adorable that I thought it was worth paying for. Unfortunately, we should have waited for the DVD.

The Plot

The main character is a pretty little spoiled Chihuahua named Chloe (voice of Drew Barrymore) who is owned by a very rich woman named Aunt Viv. (played by Jamie Lee Curtis) Regardless of Chloe being way out of his league, Papi, the landscaper's dog (voice of George Lopez) continues to persue her. When Aunt Viv has to go out of town, she trusts her niece Rachel (played by Piper Perabo) to care for Chloe. Rachel, being irresponsible, decides to go with friends on a trip to Mexico with Chloe in tow. Chloe ends up getting out of the hotel room and lost in a seedy side of town. Chloe gets dognapped by dog fight organizers but then escapes with the help of an ex-police dog. Realizing that the pretty little pup is worth a lot of money, the dognappers set out on a hunt for her. The owner's niece is also trying to get her hands on Chloe before Aunt Viv finds out that she is missing. Like most Disney movies, this one has a happy ending to send kids home with a smile on their face.

What we thought of the movie

The movie started off with very little laughs and some predictible scenes. There were a lot of little dogs all dressed up and being pampered at a doggie salon. It wasn't really anything we haven't seen before. The voices were cute but some of the dialog was a little over my kid's heads for them to find funny. They actually wanted to go home as we were approaching the middle of the movie. As it progressed, it finally started to catch our attention. One part in particular that my kids liked was when Aunt Viv was on the phone talking baby talk to who she thought was Chloe but was actually her niece making barking and growling sounds. Another scene that had my kids giggling was when Chloe and the street smart ex-police dog found themselves in a bind with some wildcats. Just when you think the two are done for, a huge cloud of dust forms, leaving the audience to wonder what is behind it. As the dust clears, hundreds of Chihuahua's are gathered and save them from the large wildcats. Unfortunately, those were the only couple of scenes that we found memorable. I left saying "that was kind of cute" and my boys said "it was actually sort of boring."

My Final Viewpoint

Ultimately, Beverly Hills Chihuahua was an okay movie with a few moments of humor. I don't recommend that you waste the money to actually go see it in the theatre. However, it would be worth the cost to rent the DVD when it comes out because there are a few cute and funny scenes. I am going with a 3 star rating on this one.