MOVIE REVIEW: Soggy Chips has lost its appeal

IF you are old enough to remember the TV show ‘Chips’ from the late 1970s, you probably don’t want reminding of its, or your, age. But some 40 years later and a remake is about to wheelie its way into cinemas with everyone asking one simple question. Why?

The original TV series starred Eric Estrada as Ponch, and Larry Willcox as John, police officers at the California Highway Patrol (CHiPs). 

Each episode would feature the two bike buddies hurtling down the freeway on oversized motorcycles in pursuit of that week’s bad guy. 

A few lighter moments and some not too complicated drama thrown into the mix was enough to secure the show a run of six seasons. 

And while that might appear to be a flimsy and unstable base on which to build a motion picture, build it they did.

The movie version stars Michael Pena as Ponch and Dax Shepard as John, and the producers have certainly gone for the laughs in much the same way as the ‘21 Jump Street’ crew did. 

But this remake doesn’t have the quality of writing that ‘Jump Street’ did, nor do the leads have the charisma of a Jonah Hill or Channing Tatum. 

Strangely, ‘Chips’ not only stars the questionably talented Shepard, it was also written and directed by the man, mildly well known as an actor for the 2012 road trip comedy ‘Hit and Run’.

It’s hard to know where and to whom this film is being pitched. The humour is so juvenile that it surely won’t appeal to the now elderly fans of the TV show and references to that series will be lost on a younger audience. 

There are a few motorbike specific lines that feel crowbarred in to appeal to the biker crowd, but that won’t be enough to save the day as in the end, there just aren’t enough jokes here to justify the film’s comedy status. 

Would you like some laughs with those Chips? Yes please. We score it a flavourless 2 out of 5 stars.

Paul O’Rourke