Part four in the
Alvin and the Chipmunks saga retains the philosophy of the previous three: There’s no need to try very hard when your audience is composed of undiscerning children. This time, the computer-animated singing rodents believe that Dave (Jason Lee) is going to propose to his girlfriend Samantha (Kimberly Williams-Paisley) in Miami—and since Samantha’s teenage son Miles (Josh Green) is mean to them, they wish to prevent the union. (They believe all that is needed to prevent a marriage proposal is to steal the ring. They also make no effort to tell Dave or Samantha that Miles is abusive.) The Chipmunks and Miles get thrown off an airplane and are thereafter pursued on land by an air marshal (Tony Hale) with a grudge. The plot depends on everyone always making the dumbest choices when presented with problems, while the humor depends on 1) fart noises, 2) Tony Hale being physically punished, and 3) the sound of contemporary pop songs being sung in high-pitched voices. For adults, it’s relatively benign tedium. For kids, who cares? They’ll watch anything.
By
Eric D. Snider