BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA
Starring Drew Barrymore, Andy Garcia. Written by Annalisa LaBianco, Jeffrey Bushell. Directed by Raja Gosnell. (G) 90 min. Opened Oct. 3.
From the director who brought us both Scooby Doo movies, comes another cutsy canine tale with a mixed cast of humans and dogs. Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) is a pampered, couture-laden “gringa” chihuahua whose owner's
irresponsible niece (Piper Perabo) loses her during an impromptu jaunt
to Mexico.
Chloe begins a journey home — in the style of Disney’s Homeward Bound — and along the way comes across an illegal dog-fighting cartel, strays voiced to sound like Nuestra Familia gang members and Delgado, a “very withholding” German Shepard ex-cop (Andy Garcia, sounding hesitant) who becomes her guide, both literally and emotionally, as each adventure turns into a lesson about what it means to know where you come from. Chloe, adamantly tethered to her Beverly Hills pedigree, eventually discards her prejudices and misconceptions one doggie bootie at a time while discovering that she is not just a lap dog (¡no mas!).
Supporting characters include a Miami Vice-style bad guy (Edward James Olmos), a thieving pack rat (a self-referential Cheech Marin) and an overzealous chihuahua (George Lopez) who spends a large majority of the movie reminding the audience that he is Mexican (“I’m gonna go all kinds of Mexican on them!”).