The weekend of cinematic delights continued yesterday. I spent a rainy afternoon on the Upper West Side with Emma (now age 8 and blossoming into a tween) bouncing from tap dancing class to soup & salad lunch to shopping for Halloween costume inspiration to... Beverly Hills Chihuahua.
I knew from the moment I saw the preview I wanted to see this movie, if only for the evil/genius child-oriented marketing strategy employed in this trailer. The preview ran before Wall-E, and within seconds of it ending, you could hear little, brainwashed voices throughout the darkened theater excitedly blurt out "chihuahua!". While I could try and justify my interest in the movie as purely academic in nature (eg, a potential case study in media education), that wouldn't be the truth at all.
I'm not afraid to admit: I liked this movie, and I cried a little bit. The dogs are cute! They talk! They don't shake because they're scared, they shake because they're CHIHUAHUAS! Plus any story of noble dogs (Delgado's sniffer doesn't work ever since he and his human police partner were gravely injured in an attack) or scrappy stray dogs (they all found homes by the end, thank goodness) really tugs at my heartstrings. Sure, it's no Homeward Bound or The Plague Dogs, but since I can't help but think of the noble, scrappy strays I have known, I can't help but love Chloe, Papi, Delgado, and the rest of B.H.C. gang.
Of course I was especially happy to have had the chance (and excuse) to see it with Emma. As she aptly noted, "I think we both know we're not seeing it for the story. I just really love dogs". Indeed.
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