ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE ROAD CHIP (Walt Becker). 92 minutes. Opens December 18. For venues and times, see nowtoronto.com/movies. Rating: N
Here are two things that stopped being cute a long, long time ago: Sir Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back and Alvin and the Chipmunks. They’re both here in The Road Chip, the fourth live-action movie in a series that continues to find its plot and gags by foraging in the trash.
This time around, Alvin (Justin Long) and his minions are on a road trip from Los Angeles to Miami while being chased by a buffoonish air marshall (Tony Hale) with a personal vendetta against the celebrity rodents. They make convenient stops in Austin and New Orleans, towns that seem ready to jive to the musical numbers the Chipmunks have always been about.
An audience making a return trip to this franchise knows these adventures and pratfalls are just slapped together so the Chipmunks can cover whatever top-40 tracks the young’uns are listening to.
There are helium-infused renditions of Mark Ronson’s Uptown Funk, DJ Snake’s Turn Down For What and Redfoo’s Juicy Wiggle. None of these sterile performances muster the kind of enthusiasm children usually enjoy during circle time.
The humans in the movie are resigned to clapping along and forced smiles. Perhaps the same goes for the parents in the audience, who will be the big butt of the joke.
