by Isabella Jordan Beverly Hills Chihuahua Directed by Raja Gosnell. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, George Lopez (voice), Drew Barrymore (voice), Andy Garcia (voice), and more. Okay I'm an animal lover from way back and have always kept pets. That being said, I've never put any of them in any type of sweater or garment, much less a Harry Winston designer diamond collar, booties, and cashmere. If you can get past this idea of pampered pooches in designer purses, you might find a cute movie. From the preview you expect a cute, fun-filled movie with dressed up doggies starring George Lopez. The movie wasn't that exactly. George Lopez actually had a secondary role in this movie which held as many tense, danger laced moments as it did cute, funny ones. Okay, here's the situation. Chloe is the pampered Chihuahua pet of a cosmetic sensation played by Jamie Lee Curtis. Chloe's world is filled with play dates, spa visits for pooches, and shopping for designer clothing. Life is good except for the occasional visit from the landscaper's pet Chihuahua, Papi. He claims she's the love of his life, his corazon or heart. She thinks he smells like fertilizer and basically brushes him off on a regular basis.

Chloe's worlds is upended when her owner, Viv, has to go to Europe to promote her cosmetics for ten days. If it was a vacation, she'd take Chloe. Since its business, she decides that Chloe must stay with someone who can be trusted to take good care of her. Viv decides to leave Chloe in the care of Rachel, her niece, while she's gone. It's made clear from the start that Rachel, the cute blonde, doesn't like Chloe and thinks she's a spoiled doggie brat. Likewise, Chloe doesn't like Rachel and thinks she's an irresponsible girl who can't hold a job. They are both actually right.

So you can guess what happens. Rachel, instead of sticking to Chloe's schedule, decides to take off to Mexico with her friends, taking Chloe with her. Of course while she's out having fun, Chloe gets out of the hotel and ends up dognapped by a group of Mexicans who run a dog fighting operation.

What isn't predictable is just how much trouble this dainty little white dog gets into and how many secondary characters they bring into this movie. While Rachel and Sam, the hunky Mexican landscaper, look for the missing Chloe along with Papi who loves her, there are the thugs from the dog fighting operation pursuing her too because they've figured out she's worth a fortune. They have an evil doberman who's the animal antagonist. There's Delgado, an ex-canine cop German Sheppard who is Chloe's constant companion and savior. There's a mouse, an iguana, homeless dogs, and more.

The movie is ninety one minutes in length but actually feels longer than that. It's not because it's a bad movie. It's just that every time you think you've reached a gimmicky conclusion, another twist is thrown in there and it keeps on going. The marketing of this film leads you to expect a lot of fluff but there's a lot of substance to this movie. Actually, there's a little too much. Budding romance between humans, budding romance between canines, revenge, redeeming lost long honor, friendship, dog fighting, responsible pet ownership...

Kids will love the movie. Adults will find a laugh here and there. There are tense moments but nothing too alarming even for the littler ones. Aside from taking on too much, the movie was well made, the vocal talents enjoyable, and ending very satisfying. Drew Barrymore as Chloe and Andy Garcia as Delgado were particularly good performances, giving their characters a real authenticity.

All in all, a cute kid's movie. Maybe not something you'll watch over and over again, but a treat just the same.

Isy