SICK WEEK ARCHIVE: THAT TALKING CHIHUAHUA MOVIE I MENTIONED IN THE LAST POST
I did, in fact review it. 2008. Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Starring Piper Perabo and Jamie Lee Curtis, with the voices of Drew Barrymore, Andy Garcia, George Lopez, Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, Placido Domingo, Edward James Olmos, Loretta Devine, Luiz Guzman
The format of this review is from a period of my work life, 1999 until about 2010, when I never would have referred to myself as a film critic. I was learning on the job, and my job was to keep my editor amused. I succeeded at that, and he was a very cool editor, but the bullet-point format of reviewing films instantly announced that no one had to take anything I wrote all that seriously.
These reviews are long gone from the internet, which I'm also fine with. I've held on to lots of them, though, so here's proof that the "talking Chihuahua" movie I mentioned in the Prada post was very real, indeed. And it has a gay pug. My friend Aaron became obsessed with that gay pug. That gay pug was true queer cinema representation.*
The Basics: A spoiled little rich Beverly Hills Chihuahua named Chloe (Barrymore) gets lost in Mexico and it’s up to the landscaper’s non-Hills Chihuahua named Papi (Lopez), who also happens to be wildly in love with Chloe, to rescue her and prove his love. He does this with the help of a bunch of other valiant dogs who are not Chihuauas. Think Lady and the Tramp, minus the pedigree, gorgeous animation and bland whiteness.
What’s The Deal: You know what this world needs more of besides movies with monkeys? Movies with talking dogs. But not just any movie with talking dogs. I saw Snow Dogs. It was bad. But I’m on board for lighthearted, not-obnoxious, sweet-natured movies about talking dogs that trip up your expectations about the levels of excellence that a movie about talking dogs can attain. This is that movie. Look, I’m surprised, too. I went to see this figuring I was doomed. And I had no kids by my side to remind me of the target demographic. And I laughed. A lot.
What About All That Bizarre Singing And Dancing In The Trailer? It doesn’t exist in the movie. For some (me) that will be a disappointment. But if that’s what was keeping you from going, if that extra level of un-reality was just too far for you to go, know that you’re safe in the knowledge that this is merely a movie where animals speak with the voices of Latino character actors. There’s also a gay pug. Not that they tell you that explicitly. But trust the gay when he tells you there's a gay pug.*
How Unexpectedly Moved You May Find Yourself: Um… you know… some. There’s a plot thread about dogs being forced to fight, Michael Vick-style, to the death. And when all those dogs are freed to help Chloe find her way back home and then, one by one, those dogs find loving homes of their own, I DEFY YOU NOT TO GET KIND OF CHOKED UP.
Refreshingly Free Of: “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
*2025 UPDATE: His name is Sebastian.
