Disclaimer: I have no particular interest in chimps. My name is a reference to the subject line on the first email I ever sent and has nothing to do with how I feel about watching primates on screen.
Julie considers skateboarding celebrity Jack and her other three chimps to be like family. And when Jack is depressed, she believes a trip to Mexico will cheer him up.
At the airport, Julie learns the chimps will not be able to sit together, but she doesn't mind. Jack is off reading a magazine when a group of children in beautiful costumes, apparently representing different countries, passes by. The child wearing a sombrero and serape like Jack's has to use the restroom badly, but the woman in charge of the kids can't be bothered. The kid goes anyway, and when Jack joins the group, no one notices the kid is missing.
Julie eventually discovers Jack is not on her plane. There is nothing she can do once the plane lands, because a hurricane is coming.
In Mt. Blackbrush, Colorado, 12-year-old Pete is having trouble adjusting after he and his older brother Jay have moved with their father from Oregon--and if that's not enough, the boys' father has to leave for several days. Pete is a talented snowboarder and Jay belongs to a rock band.
When the boys say goodbye to their father at the Denver airport, the colorfully dressed children--and Jack--arrive at the same time. Jack hitches a ride in a van which happens to be headed to the Mexican restaurant where the boys will be eating.
Jack happens to be there when bumbling crooks Gilfred and Stanley get kicked out of a limo for botching a robbery.
Pete joins a snowboarding group but he's still treated like the "new kid". A competition is coming up, and the winner gets to meet Bjorn Leines. But Pete has no partner.
Jack and Pete finally meet and go to the store where Shirley works--where Gilfred and Stanley are hiding behind magazines as they prepare to rob the place. But Jack is on the cover of one of the magazines. That's him! Wait, new plan!
If you're as smart as Stanley (or is it Gilfred), you can figure it out from here. (If you're no smarter than the other one, you shouldn't watch any movie more challenging than this.) Hint: I saw "Air Bud: Golden Receiver" several weeks ago and immediately recognized it as the movie Jack was watching. No, I don't know whether the chimp from that movie also played Jack.
The chimps here are talented; the humans are not. Actually, the snowboarders show a lot of talent, but since we don't see their faces I'm guessing they are stunt players. Not only are they very good, but so is the filming of their action.
The chimp or chimps playing Jack is/are amazing. Of course, we are likely seeing the results of a considerable amount of training and rewards for performance. But the character Jack shows outstanding intelligence.
As for human actors with lines, I suppose Devin Douglas Drewitz and Trevor Wright are at least good enough not to be bad. Another performance worth seeing came from James Crescenzo as the boss who torments Gilfred and Stanley--who are funny characters even if the actors aren't especially good.
One gag with the two bumbling idiots and a large snowball worked really well. It would be easy in a cartoon, but too dangerous for actual people. But with creative design and editing, it's great.
This is really a movie for kids. There is no offensive content, and most of the music is really loud rock not intended for anyone over 25. If it wasn't edited for TV, this deserves a G rating.
But I'm no kid, and I enjoyed this a lot.
