ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS — ★ ★ — Jason Lee, Ross Bagdasarian Jr., Janice Karman, Don Tiffany, David Cross, Cameron Richardson, Jane Lynch, Jordan Green, Allison Karman, Tiara Parker; rated PG (violence, mild profanity, vulgarity)

To enjoy "Alvin and the Chipmunks," you obviously need to be amused by recognizable novelty songs that are sped up so that the singing is in reedy, high-pitched tones. And it probably wouldn't hurt if you find flatulence and other crude humor amusing, because this live-action adaptation of the once-popular cartoon series relies on such things.

However, there is one surprise — it's not as eye-gougingly awful as you might expect. It's simply mediocre and immediately forgettable.

"Alvin" is the second small-screen-to-big-screen vehicle this year for "My Name is Earl" star Jason Lee. He also voiced the title character in "Underdog." Here, he plays Dave Seville, an unsuccessful songwriter.

The down-in-the-dumps Dave receives a lucky break when three chipmunks stow away in a muffin basket he has swiped. It turns out that the three rodents — named Alvin, Simon and Theodore (voiced by Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney, respectively) — can sing and dance.

So, he pens a song for them, titled "Christmas, Don't Be Late," which immediately becomes a hit and makes them an overnight sensation.

Unfortunately, Dave's former friend Ian (David Cross), a greedy mogul, lures the chipmunks away from Dave with promises to make them millionaires.

Even at a relatively scant 92 minutes, the film feels a little padded. And again, relying on lowest common-denominator humor is a sure sign of desperation on the part of the three credited screenwriters.

As for the usually low-key Lee, his rather "cartoony" acting style here leaves a lot to be desired. To be fair, he has to perform opposite three "characters" who aren't really there — although the computer-generated chipmunks were created by some of the "Ice Age" animators and are integrated pretty well into the live-action elements.

"Alvin and the Chipmunks" is rated PG for vulgar humor and references (mostly scatological in nature), slapstick violence (pratfalls and chipmunk mayhem), scattered mild profanity (mostly religiously based), and nude cartoon art. Running time: 92 minutes.

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