Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip

***Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip*** (also known simply as ***Alvin and the Chipmunks 4***) is a 2015 American live action/computer animated family musical comedy film directed by Walt Becker and written by Randi Mayem Singer and Adam Sztykiel. The fourth installment in the live-action franchise, it stars Jason Lee, Tony Hale, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Josh Green, and Bella Thorne, with the voices of Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Kaley Cuoco (replacing Amy Poehler), Anna Faris and Christina Applegate.

The film centers on the Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, and Theodore) as they head to Miami after believing that Dave will propose to his girlfriend Samantha, who has a son who bullies the Chipmunks. Along the way they end up in unfortunate circumstances such as being put on the No Fly List.

The film was released on December 18, 2015, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $234 million worldwide against a $90 million budget and received generally negative reviews from critics.

## Plot

Four years after the events of the third film, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore (Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney), along with the Chipettes – Brittany, Jeanette, and Eleanor (Christina Applegate, Anna Faris and Kaley Cuoco) – set up a surprise birthday bash for Dave (Jason Lee) that also serves as a good-luck and going-away party for the Chipettes, who are scheduled to be guest judges on *American Idol*. Alvin invites and hires many people and celebrities to the dismay of Simon before Dave returns home in dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, Dave agrees to take them to mini-golf, and meet Samantha (Kimberly Williams-Paisley), the woman he has been dating for the past few months. While the Chipmunks like Samantha, her son Miles (Josh Green) is a bully who physically abuses the trio. Later, the Chipmunks find an engagement ring in a bag Dave brought home and believe that he is going to propose to Samantha. Realizing in horror that Dave and Samantha getting married would make Miles their step-brother, they try to steal the ring, but are unsuccessful.

Dave has to produce a record for rising pop artist Ashley Grey (Bella Thorne) in Miami, and decides to bring Samantha along with him. The Chipmunks and Miles are staying together, but they agree to head to Miami to sabotage the supposed proposal. The Chipmunks drug three squirrels and dress them up in their clothes to fool their hard-of-seeing neighbor Ms. Price, who was asked to look after them. The Chipmunks travel on a plane, but Theodore lets out a monkey, which then lets out several animals which cause an emergency landing and bring the ire of unscrupulous Air Marshal James Suggs (Tony Hale), who is revealed to have a grudge against the Chipmunks because his girlfriend dumped him for being so into them at the time, effectively eliminating his shot of becoming an FBI agent. As revenge on them, he puts them on the No Fly List (except for Miles).

The Chipmunks perform at a bar, but are caught by Suggs. However, a bar fight occurs and the Chipmunks escape. They jump into a taxi cab sitting outside. After the cab driver learns that they cannot pay him, he kicks the four out of the cab. The Chipmunks and Miles rest at an old tree, and he reveals that his father left him when he was five years old, causing the four to bond and see each other in different lights. They raise money to take a bus to New Orleans, and sing "Uptown Funk" at the Mardi Gras parade, which gets the attention of Dave when it is broadcast on live television and allows the Chipmunks to cause Suggs, who has followed them, to get drunk on moonshine.

Dave and Samantha meet Miles and the Chipmunks at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and ground them for what they did. Because the Chipmunks are now on the No Fly List, Dave has to drive the boys. Dave is very disappointed in them. When they arrive in Miami, Alvin reveals that he stole the ring from the container, thus ruining the proposal. However, Miles had bonded with the Chipmunks during their trip and was upset that they were celebrating over this, thinking they just didn’t want to have him around. He crosses the street with his headphones on and is almost hit by a car, but the Chipmunks swing Theodore and push Miles out of the way, saving his life. They agree to give the ring back.

During the dinner, Suggs catches up with the Chipmunks, but they trap him in an elevator. Miles and the Chipmunks return the ring to Dave saying they accept Samantha and Miles into the family, but Dave reveals he never intended to propose to Samantha for the time being, and the ring belonged to his friend Barry, who was proposing to his girlfriend, Alice, who is disgusted to find a breath mint inside the container, which Alvin had placed there as a replacement for the ring. Dave is very disappointed in the Chipmunks, so they try to make it up to him by singing a new song to him at the launch party with the help of the Chipettes, Ashley and Miles. They also return the ring to Barry, who reattempts his proposal to Alice, and this time, Alice accepts. Having forgiven them (while also apologizing for going overboard with his no music policy which was their punishment), Dave returns to Los Angeles with the Chipmunks and officially adopts them as his sons.

Suggs escapes the elevator and decides to relax by the pool, only for two security guards to carry him out of the hotel.