So Jason Lee might be a wacky Scientologist nutcase, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying “My Name is Earl.” And it didn’t stop me from loving “Alvin and the Chipmunks.”
Naturally, the movie was Bridget’s choice, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Alvin, Simon and Theodore. I remember listening to the classic Chipmunk albums as a kid. I also remember using our old reel-to-reel tape recorder to make our own Chipmunk moments. Just record at 33 rpms and play at 78 rpms. Comedy cold, guaranteed.
I did worry about how the classic tale might get bastardized by today’s movie machine. A few of those fears came true. I didn’t like how they hip-hopped up the Chipmunks’ songs, but I understood that going that route of presentation over performance was crucial to the script so I dealt with it.
I loved David Cross as the bad guy. I kind of think he’s a pretentious snob to begin with so he fit in there perfectly. Jason Lee did a great job sans mustache, and the chipmunks pretty much kicked ass.