Tag: Piper Perabo

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

MPAA Rated – PG
It’s 1:31 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Drew Barrymore (voice), Piper Perabo, Andy Garcia (voice), George Lopez (voice), Jamie Lee Curtis
MPAA Rated: PG
Released By: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Kiddie Movie: It’s PG for some sort of scary stuff.
Date Movie: If she’s the mother of your children.
Gratuitous Sex: Nope.
Gratuitous Violence: Some scary dog moments, but nothing horrible.
Action: Dogs chase each other.
Laughs: Mostly for kids.
Memorable Scene: Even though it was weird, the Chihuahua Nation scene was interesting.
Memorable Quote: None.
Directed By: Raja Gosnell

When “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” was originally in the theaters, Stu Gotz had a birthday party for one of his little Gotz’s, and mentioned that the kiddies all seemed to have a good time watching the movie, and that he actually enjoyed the movie, too. When I got a chance to see the DVD of the movie, I figured I’d give it a shot as well, sans anyone’s kids around me, to see if Stu was just wrapped up in “little kid” euphoria, or if the movie is okay for adults. I suppose you’ll just have to keep reading to find out.

For the story, the movie is mostly about Chihuahuas, in this case two of them, Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) and Papi (voiced by George Lopez). Chloe is an uber-pampered dog, living in Beverly Hills (duh?), owned by Viv (Jamie Lee Curtis) who spares no expense for the pampering, and clothing, or her pet. Papi, on the other hand is the rambunctious companion of a landscaper, and Papi has the hots for Chloe. In the movie, yes, we get dogs that talk to each other, and Chloe won’t give Papi the time of day because, well, she is too “good” for him. Enter Rachel (Piper Perabo). When Viv has to go out of town for business, she entrusts Rachel to take care of her beloved pooch. Sadly, Rachel is also kind of an uppity Beverly Hills’ chick and doesn’t really care, nor understand, the uppity needs of Chloe, so when Rachel heads south of the border, to Mexico, with Chloe in tow, and Rachel ignoring Chloe for some fun time with her friends, Chloe decides to head out, and wouldn’t you know it, bad things start to happen to Chloe. Thankfully, enter trusty old German Shepherd, Delgado (voiced by Andy Garcia), who befriends Chloe and tries to keep her safe from the bad guys, and bad dogs, and works to get her back to the States.

In the meantime, with Chloe missing, Rachel goes into full panic mode, on the hunt for Chloe, and is joined by Papi and his owner, and wouldn’t you know it, there is the underlying story of a dog-fighting ring, and of course, our entire cast of humans and dogs come together to save the day, bust the bad guys, and love blossoms as Chloe realizes her true love doesn’t need to be a pampered dog from Beverly Hills, but could also be a hard worker who loves her.

Okay, does it really matter what the story is about? I mean, it’s about a bunch of talking dogs and their inept owners, it’s from Disney, and for kids it will probably be great as they will love the fun-loving romps that the dogs have. For the adults, I suppose what I figure is that if you have kids, and are forced to watch the movie with them, it won’t bore you to tears like some kid’s movies because there is a laugh or two, but I’m guessing that unless you’re a big, burly dude who owns a little dog, you’re going to hate this movie. Pretty much you will know if “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is for you, or your kids, from the commercials, so for those of you it is marketed for, it’s a solid 3 ½ stars out of 5 from me. I don’t think Stu Gotz was wrapped up in “little kid” euphoria when he saw it, for parents it’s a movie you can sit with and not tear your eyes out, while your watching it with your kids.

As far as the basic DVD package, I’ve got to say there isn’t that much as far as extras. There’s an animated short about “The Legend of the Chihuahua” that is kind of cute, the “Deleted Scenes” feature isn’t very funny, and the “Blooper Scooper” is kind of funny showing the dogs not always following their trainers, but pretty much the standard DVD version is really just for watching the movie with your kids.

That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Because I Said So

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:42 Long
A Preview by:
– The Dude on the Right

Because I Said So
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo, Lauren Graham
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Universal Pictures
Directed By: Michael Lehmann

Okay, I know this is totally a chick-flick, and I’m a Mandy Moore and Piper Perabo fan, but so far the only reason I have to legitimize my going to see it is because there doesn’t seem to be any other movies I really want to see that opens the same weekend. I can see myself in the theater right now, with about 20 dudettes, all of them looking at me funny.

The things I have to do to review movies sometimes.

That’s it for this preview! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Coyote Ugly

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:41 Long
A Review by:
– The Dude on the Right

Coyote Ugly
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Piper Perabo, Adam Garcia, Maria Bello, Melanie Lynskey, Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Touchstone Pictures
Release Date: 2000
Kiddie Movie: It’s really a chick flick disguised as a dude flick.
Date Movie: Not too young – they won’t get it.
Gratuitous Sex: No.
Gratuitous Violence: Some bar fighting.
Action: Not really.
Laughs: A line here and there.
Memorable Scene: Anytime the girls are dancing on the bar.
Memorable Quote: Nothing really.
Directed By: David McNally

I was hoodwinked. I was tricked. I was boondoggled. I went to see “Coyote Ugly.” Much like probably most every other guy who saw the trailer for “Coyote Ugly,” seeing hot babes dancing on a bar, spraying water, dressed pretty skimpily, well, my first reaction in seeing this was “I have got to see this movie.” It didn’t really matter what the plot was, it didn’t really matter about character development, it didn’t really matter about anything – I just wanted to see hot babes dancing on a bar, hopefully getting their t-shirts wet, and maybe even getting naked. Then I saw the rating – PG-13, and I got a little worried. But that didn’t stop me from eagerly wanting to see the movie – visions of babes on a bar still danced in my head. Then I saw the movie and felt betrayed, suckered, and hoodwinked – “Coyote Ugly” is a chick flick with hot babes dancing on a bar for good measure.

Hot babes aside, the story kinda goes like this: Violet (Piper Perabo) moves from her small New Jersey town to New York City searching for her dream as a songwriter. Her dreams get squashed when she finds out the meaning of “Unsolicited Material,” namely, you can’t send music to a record company without their asking. Her dreams shattered, her apartment vandalized, Violet is almost ready to give up except she has found a dude-friend, Kevin (Adam Garcia), who gives her a little bit of hope, and she overhears these hot babes in a diner talking about how much money they made and how one of them was leaving work at the bar. With opportunity knocking, Violet heads to Coyote Ugly – the bar, and looks for a job. Yes, she gets hired, yes, she has no idea what she is getting into, and yes, the love story develops. It’s also from her working at the bar that she begins to get over her stage fright, and just when her luck gets more crappy because she gets fired because of her idiot boyfriend, you can’t expect this movie to end this way and know that in the end she’ll get the dude and get to sing her song.

Yes, the story wrap-up was kind of quick, but it’s your basic girl-with-a-dream and a love story mixed in – hence, chick flick. Did the trailer say that? You know what, maybe it did – all I still remember from the trailer was hot babes dancing on a bar. The movie had that, too, but really it’s not a movie about hot babes, just one hot babe and her dream.

Is the movie bad – no, not really. Is the movie calculated – yea, you pretty much could figure out everything that was going to happen. Should you see it – well, it’s geared more for the upper-teen audience, so if your girlfriend wants to see a movie, suggest this one. She might squawk, saying all you want to see are hot babes dancing on a bar, and well, this will be true. But she’ll probably get a feel good movie and get past the scenes that tricked this dude into expecting more (or maybe less if you’re talking about clothing).

All in all I’m giving “Coyote Ugly” 3 stars out of 5. It holds its own as a story, John Goodman as Violet’s dad is pretty funny, especially when he finds out where she works, and even though not the movie I expected (I expected a story revolving around the 5 bartenders, their individual lives outside the bar, intertwined with their working in the bar) it wasn’t that bad.

That’s it for this one, I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!