MANILA – Terrific! And I say that after watching the movie Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel this afternoon, 12 January 2010, at Walter Mart in the City of Calamba, birthplace of the National Hero of the Philippines, international genius Jose Rizal, the same town where quite a few years ago Charice won some cash and a trophy that was taller than the little girl singing contestant that she was. They don’t make them like they used to anymore.

Awesome! And I say that because in Walter Mart, the pictures were stunning and the sounds were perfect. But you must take that with a grain of salt; I’m going on 70 this year. I don’t have perfect vision; I have double-vision – I wear glasses. I didn’t get many of the Chipmunks jokes – it must have been my ears. I don’t listen like I used to anymore.

Amazing! And I say that despite the fact that Mr Security Guard accosted me inside the Walter Mart theater as I was shooting Charice singing – I forgot that I didn’t have the right to do that. I handed over the Casio Exilim Ex-S5 slim digital camera I had brought with me that could shoot good video (640×480 at 30fps); I was really shooting only for stills and would have gone home with very good shots of Charice at a resolution size of 3,648×2,736 pixels. Mr Security deleted the images offending to good manners and right conduct, and I want to report that he was doing his duty, and should be commended. (The image is from the filming.) He returned the Casio; I forgot to thank him that he didn’t confiscate the camera. I must always remember the law. If Charice made me forget, I’m glad Mr Security made me remember in a nice way.

Splendid! And I say that despite the fact that no one mentioned the role of Charice, not one of the many American critics who reviewed Chipmunks 2, those who hated and those who loved the Squeakquel, where she sang “No One” by Alicia Keys. It was a minor role – and she didn’t even get to finish her singing – but a major triumph for her. “It’s not a big role,” Charice said (gig2us.com), “but the fact that it’s a Hollywood movie is already a big deal for me.” The little girl is on the big screen. As you will see later, her cameo role in Chipmunks 2 was squeaked in because Charice was Charice. It can’t get any better than that.

A cameo is a cameo. A cameo role is a brief but dramatic appearance of a prominent actor, as in a single scene of a motion picture (American Heritage Dictionary). You can’t do a cameo role if you’re not prominent enough. It was enough that Charice was The Most Talented Girl in the World! Go ask Oprah.

In the movie, they sliced Charice’s cameo role into 3 parts, interspersing dramatic/intense scenes. Now, how in the world did a Filipina, a harmless-looking lass no less, a country girl at that, get to Hollywood and land a cameo role in the Century-Fox Squeakquel? JRDB has the Sun.Star whole story in Charice’s own words; I’m translating and summarizing here (remember that Charice as a talent at this time already had a manager in the US):

We had a meeting that time. They asked me what my favorite movie was and I said, “Alvin and the Chipmunks.” I also told them that I knew how to copy the voices of the Chipmunks.

Really? They told her there was a search for some other talent for Alvin and the Chipmunks Part 2.

And that’s it. I auditioned for the role in the normal way, with no backer. Not because I am close to Oprah I won the audition. I auditioned for it and sang two songs. I read the script.

She had already gone back to the Philippines when she was told she got the role. She was going to sing with the Chipettes. Actually, more than that. She won a part in the movie where there was no part for her. Marc Johnston, her manager in the US, told her, “They wanted you to play as Charice, yourself!” That was unbelievable. That was not in the original script.

So she went back to the States to start shooting her scenes. When she met the film’s Director, Ms Betty Thomas, she said (Rowena Joy A Sanchez, 05 January 2010, mb.com):

“You know what, I saw you in Oprah.” And she said that she could relate to the story of my life. That was why she told her staff, “I need this girl (in) my movie.”

Alvin and the Chipmunks 1 and 2 are combined live-action and computer-generated imagery comedy-musical films. The live action is real; the CGI is surreal – you take your comedy as you like it. The films star Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, and Jane Lynch. The voices of the Chipmunks are Justin Long (as Alvin), Matthew Gray Gubler (Simon), and Jess McCartney (Theodore); the voices of the Chipettes are Christina Applegate (Brittany), Amy Poehler (Eleanor), and Anna Faris (Jeanette).

The first Alvin and the Chipmunks won 5 Grammy Awards and 1 American Music Award. “My mom is a big fan of the Chipmunks,” Charice said, “and that’s how I got to know the group” (quoted by ANN, 24 March 2009, gig2us.com). The Squeakquel is a big success itself; as of 03 January, it ranked #3 in the box office worldwide, with a 12-day total of $157 million (Reyma Buan-Deveza, 04 January 2010, abs-cbnnews.com). Chipmunks 2 outsold Charles Dickens’ classic “A Christmas Carol” and Disney’s 2-D movie “The Princess And The Frog,” and the Squeakquel soundtrack, which includes Charice’s song, was #20 in the Billboard 200 chart (Rowena Joy A Sanchez, 05 January 2010, mb.com.ph). It can only get better.

The Squeakquel premiered in the US on 23 December; it premiered in Manila last Friday, 08 January 2010. I didn’t watch because I was preoccupied Friday copywriting a Manila Bulletin double-spread ad-to-be for a UP alumni association, and then Saturday I left for the boondocks, you might say. They don’t have even a single movie house in my sleepy hometown of Asingan in Pangasinan, where I visited to listen to a talk by Modi Gabriel on his group’s great success with a buffalo milk cooperative in town. Anything about my village interests me greatly. That was Sunday. Monday, I went back to Manila, now raring to watch Chipmunks 2. Anything about Charice interests me greatly.

During filming, at the Century Fox’s set at the Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, the studio audience of over 400 high school students (extras) clapped, cheered, whistled and pumped their fists when Charice sang “No One” (Ruben V Nepales, 30 March 2009, libre.com.ph). Charice said, “I was so happy because that is my favorite song. I did not have to practice it.” Even extras know an extra performance when they see it.

In the movie’s contest finale, all the co-stars sang and danced “Shake Your Booty” and, guess what? She told Nepales, “I was so glad where I stood that time. I was positioned next to the Chipmunks.” Right in front. Later, he told ANN about dancing: “I love to dance and I want this to be part of my performance life” (author not named, 01 July 2009, aceshowbiz.com). Charice will want more to be part of her performances, as she not only can dance but can work the Internet, upload a video, compose, strum the guitar, play the piano, play billiards, go karting, and do rap. To be sure, Charice is a Girl Wonder.

Watching the movie, I made sure that I saw this afternoon, that she was in the front row, an honor you can’t buy. I say this is the movie that would launch the acting career of Charice. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most critics’ ratings of Chipmunks 2 ranged from Dislike to Hate.

“Twice the Chipmunks, half the fun” (Glinn Whipp, 22 December 2009, tbo.com). Glinn, you’re too old for the Chipmunks.

“Even the kiddies weren’t buying it” (02 January 2010, noirprincess, imdb.com). Princess, you can’t win them all.

“21% rotten tomato” (rottentomatoes.com). “This Squeakquel may entertain the kiddies, but it’s low on energy and heavily reliant on slapstick humor.” Rotten tomatoes! So, what’s wrong with entertaining the kids, and what’s wrong with slapstick comedy?

Even the movie critic I love, TIME’s Richard Corliss name-calls it “Alvin 2: The Unspeakable Squeakquel” (time.com). He is quite unhappy to note that Chipmunks 2 earned $75 million in its first 5 days of release. “Maybe the kids aren’t as cinematically precocious as I thought they were.” Oh, Richard, they are; you aren’t. The kids know what’s good for them. The adults like us don’t. After all, adults were not the target audience of Chipmunks 2. Enough of the Chipmonks among us!

“My 4-year-old laughed pretty much nonstop throughout,” Peter Hartlaub said; “This was his ‘Citizen Kane’” (San Francisco Chronicle, 23 December 2009, sfgate.com). A bit of movie history: Made in 1941, Citizen Kane was movie genius Orson Welles’ signature film, also his first, a ground-breaking drama loosely based on the life of newspaper king William Randolph Hearst, and considered “the finest American film ever made” (ANN, allmovie.com). To Peter’s daughter, bless her soul, the Squeakquel was the finest of the Chipmunks films ever made, even if there were only 2.

“You may hate them, I may hate them,” Ty Burr said, “but someone loves those singing Chipmunks” (23 December 2009, The Boston Globe, boston.com). I do. And I’m not 4 years old anymore. “It’s spunky, charming and – yes – irresistible,” Owen Gleiberman said (25 December 2009, ew.com). You really got me! “The songs in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel are natural-born showstoppers.” The Chipmunks can’t stop now. Pinaybug said (26 December 2009, charicepempengco.com): Of course (Charice’s) “No One” performance (was) edited for the movie. Did I know that? Of course I did, but oh, it is SOOOOOOOOO worth it. It was probably not even a full minute, but don’t let that deter you…I got chills running up and down my spine when it was time for her to come on the screen. That is a priceless feeling. What a pro. She’s great in front of the camera. I foretell more movies in her future! Bigger parts.

It’s “logic-free,” Rito Asilo said of the Squeakquel (08 January 2010, inquirer.net). I say that being logic-free makes it fun. Creativity is logic-free; that makes it fertile of opportunities, productive of pleasure.

“The fun follow-up to the 2007 blockbuster,” Betsy Sharkey said, “is filled with teen chipmunk drama as the trio face some competition from a female chipmunk singing group” (23 December 2009, Los Angeles Times, calendarlive.com). You gotta have fun.

In the film, the Chipettes, the all-girl singing group, are out to get the Chipmunks out of fame, and Charice is out to get all of them out of the contest prize money. “I’m gonna be the rival of (the) Chipmunks,” Charice had said during the filming (antnoy1, youtube.com), double-quoting the words “the rival” with two fingers of both hands punctuating the air.

The rival didn’t get the prize of $25,000. That sounds familiar? In the Grand Finals of the Philippines’ biggest TV station ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star singing contest a few years ago, Charice missed the 1-million-peso grand prize – equivalent to, would you believe, $25,000?! She lost to 1st placer Sam Concepcion; in fact, she didn’t just lose – she also lost to 2nd placer Gian Barbarona. They told her the reason was that she got the lowest text votes – the contestants had to spend money to have more SMS votes than the others in order to win. This was one of the times Charice couldn’t get the money because her family didn’t have any.

This time, Charice is actually a winner in Chipmunks 2 because she had landed the role by virtue of outperforming others in the audition. She had sung 2 songs, both Beyonce’s: “Listen” and “Irreplaceable.” Afterwards, they said they would call her. Presence of mind. She said, “Before I leave, I wanna show you my hidden talent.” Listen to her, as she told Toni Gonzaga in an interview, as she ate her ice cream on a cone, as she mimicked the Chipmunks one after the other in one breath; what you see is what you get (youtube.com):

Hello, I’m Simon, the smart one. He’s Alvin, the awesomest one. And I’m Theodore!

In the films, the human voices are transformed by computer into their individual Chipmunks; with Charice, she simply modulates her voice to come out 3 Chipmunks in 1 breath. It’s a sign of a great singer if she can mimic other voices, but 3-in-1? At Long Beach, California after the shooting of Chipmunks 2, she said, “I was super happy when they told me, ‘See you (on) premiere night’ – that meant she was one of the stars of the show, and she had to be there on premiere night, right.

Singing your favorite song in your favorite movie – it can’t get any better than that! Of Chipmunks 1, Charice said in an interview (antnoy1, youtube.com), “I watched the movie like 30 times – in 1 day!” You better believe it; she is used to counting. Now then, she said, “When they emailed me that I’m part of the movie, I was like shocked. Yah, I’m very happy.” She’s going to watch Chipmunks 2 like 300 times – in 10 days. (Notice? Charice is into email; at any rate, I hope I’ll get that bit of news myself in my email, frankahilario@gmail.com, so I can tell the world I myself was right on the count.)

“I really love Theodore,” she said in that interview. I really love Charice.

In Calamba City, I waited for the long display of credits at the end of the movie. I saw in the list of the cast this entry, “Herself – Charice Pempengco.” Indeed, in the movie the emcee during the contest had announced her name: “Charice!” There was no mistaking it. And in the credit list of songs sung in the Squeakquel, it said “No One” by Alicia Keys was “Performed by Charice.” She sang it as her school’s representative to the singing contest, which of course was won by the Chipmunks, not the Chipettes, no matter how pretty they looked and sang. The Chipmunks have everything to lose; you can’t win.

Why was there a singing contest in the first place? The school’s music program was about to be cut off; the Chipmunks entered the talent search, planning to win, planning to use the $25,000 prize to save the music department of their school. That was the mission. The wider appeal of Chipmunks movies lies more in the song-and-dance numbers and less on the Chipmunks and their mission.

Why did Charice join the singing contest herself? She was a natural. It was up her alley. When she was much younger, her family was not poor – it was destitute. I chose the City of Calamba to watch the Squeakquel also because it was convenient and right next to the town of Cabuyao in Laguna where Charice was born 10 May 1992. Ask Charice and she will tell you that when she was 7 years old, she began counting singing contests all over the provinces of Laguna and Batangas, up to 50 km south of Manila, entering more than 80 singing competitions in all, planning to win, planning to use the prize money to buy food for her little family, brother Carl, mother Raquel and herself, go to school, pay the rent, and maybe buy some pizza.

In Manila, when she was 12, she lost the biggest singing catch of all, the 1 million-peso grand prize for ABS-CBN’s Little Big Star, twice. In the beginning, she was eliminated after one song. She was devastated; I gave it my best, she said, and it wasn’t good enough for the judges. Months later, they squeaked her back in as a wild card, and she won up to the Grand Finals, and then lightning struck twice. She only squeaked in 3rd place. So, she gave up on going places and making her dreams come true via her singing, but Dave Dueñas didn’t – and that made all the difference. Thank God for friends who do what they can do and don’t give up so easily, despite the hazards of doing good. As FalseVoice, he uploaded Charice’s Little Big Star performance on YouTube, up to and including facing her off with America’s Got Talent winner Bianca Ryan, both singing “And I Am Telling You (I’m Not Going)” by Jennifer Hudson. Charice sang in her pajamas. Her pajama song hit the bull’s eye and she got invited to South Korea’s popular talent show Star King - and with that she hit the jackpot. That episode was uploaded, and Ellen DeGeneres’ scout spotted Charice’s Star King’s stellar performance, and Ellen herself on the air invited Charice to sing in her show. She did, and Charice had her first standing ovation ever, not in Manila but in Burbank, California. She made Ellen cry her heart out, and she proclaimed that Charice was a star in the making. That really launched her international career. Then Oprah guested her in her own great show, then Oprah arranged for her to meet and she charmed David Foster, who said, “A star is born tonight!” then she sang with Celine Dion in Madison Square Garden and, as they say, the rest is history. (For more details and denouements, you might want to see my “Pinoy Cinderella. 1: Sky falls on Little Big Star Charice” as well as my “Internet Charice. Can’t Beat Her? Join Her!” Pinoy Cinderella, blogspot.com.)

I say, you can’t keep a good girl down.

She can only get better!
Be still my heart
She can only get better
We’ve come this far
She can only get better!

Written by Frank A. Hilario, American Chronicle

Posted by Eve

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