Beverly Hills Chihuahua -- November 2008

FIND YOUR BARK


Here was the dilemma: were there any movies out there I could see and recommend to a Christian audience? Not many, apparently. I’d seen a poster advertising a picture about chihuahuas but dismissed it as too cute and child-oriented. But something made me reconsider, and I’m glad I did. Beverly Hills Chihuahua is heartwarming and fun and well worth your time.

Here’s the gist: Chloe is a likable but haughty and pampered chihuahua who lives in the lap of luxury in a Beverly Hills mansion with Viv, her human (played by Jamie Lee Curtis). Viv is suddenly called out of town on a business trip; the trouble is, Chloe’s dog nanny is on maternity leave. What to do? Viv can’t take her pooch along because it’s a business trip and Chloe “would be uncomfortable and wouldn’t enjoy it.” Fortunately, Viv’s self-involved niece Rachel walks in at the right moment, and voila, Chloe has a caretaker. But Rachel, who believes in treating dogs like dogs, gets invited to take a trip to Mexico with some friends. The only solution is to take Chloe along on the trip, which of course she does. They check into a hotel in Tijuana, where Rachel has the audacity to feed Chloe dog food out of a can. This is the last straw for Chloe, who leaves the hotel and strikes out on her own, but she soon falls into the clutches of a dog-fighting group. With her diamond-studded collar and pink booties, she is an attractive and valuable catch for the bad guy owner of the fighting ring. Things do not look good for Chloe.

At this point you’re probably thinking Beverly Hills Chihuahua is just an animal movie for kids, but it really isn’t. It operates on two levels. We can anthropomorphize Chloe and the other dogs and enjoy the story of their adventures, but the picture is also about human behavior. It satirizes the lifestyle of the spoiled well-off and suggests that, like Chloe, there are those who need to be jolted out of their comfortable lives and subjected to experiences that challenge them and hone their skills – experiences that help them to “find themselves.” That’s what happens to Chloe. She’s severely tested and has to rise to the occasion. While a captive of the dog-fighting group she makes several new friends, most notably a brave and resourceful German shepherd named Delgado, who helps her in her quest. They have many hair-raising experiences, not the least of which is an encounter with three ravenous mountain lions. A key moment occurs when they meet an entire army of chihuahuas, who encourage Chloe to “find her bark” – that is, to discover her gifts, build her courage, and learn to be her real self.

The picture has excellent production values. Several well-known actors provide the voices of the dogs, including Drew Barrymore as Chloe and Andy Garcia as Delgado. The dialogue is snappy and humorous. The pace is fast. There are many funny sequences, such as the one in which Aunt Viv calls Rachel to talk with her little darling, and Rachel, who is at a Mexican police station, has to impersonate Chloe by barking into the phone. Best of all, Beverly Hills Chihuahua is about values: friendship, unselfishness, courage, and perseverance. Rachel makes it her responsibility to find Chloe and never gives up searching for her. Delgado doesn’t desert her. Chloe finds her bark and becomes a “mighty chihuahua.”

This is one you can take the whole family to.

Film Rating: PG
My Rating: 3 stars