Cats movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Cats (2019)

RATING: PG

LENGTH: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE: D for Disappointing and just weird

IN A NUTSHELL:

Directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper, this adaptation of one of the longest running shows on Broadway is leaving audiences slightly horrified and disappointed. Tom Hooper also directed the gorgeous movie Les Miserables (2012), which I absolutely loved, so I had high hopes for this movie. Sadly, this movie is a CAT-astrophe.

Back when I was in college, I saw “Cats” on Broadway. I couldn’t afford the expensive tickets, but they had a “standing only” area where us poor kids could watch the show. Can you imagine standing for a two-hour show? I wanted to see it because it was sooooo popular back in the day, but I always thought the stage play was odd and nonsensical. Sadly, this movie is even weirder with the CGI and imbalance of tone and acting.

Someone in the theater where I watched the movie was snoring so loudly that several people started to laugh. There is something mind-numbing and boring about the movie that defies description. Will there be people who like this and think my review is unfair? Probably. Could there be cult-following of this movie made up of people who love to laugh at how bad and ridiculous this movie is? Probably.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:
• Maybe some kids will like it?

• There is a surprising amount of sexual tension.

Like the rest of us, kids won’t quite understand what’s going on.

THEMES:
• Kindness to others

Hope for a better life
We all just want to be needed and wanted

THINGS I LIKED:

• Andrew Lloyd Webber actually wrote new songs for the movie. Yay. Unfortunately, the lyrics to most of the songs just don’t make sense.

• In today’s age of female empowerment, this is the first time the character “Old Deuteronomy” is represented as female.

The talented cast includes two Oscar winners: Jennifer Hudson and Dame Judi Dench. Sir Ian McKellen was nominated but didn’t win. They give solid performances, but the rest of the movie doesn’t seem to match their level of drama, which is one of the reasons why the tone of the film seems so off. You might wonder why someone like the legendery Judi Dench would want to be in this movie. Many years ago, she was actually going to perform in the stage play, but she was injured and had to pull out of the production. I’m sure she was hoping this experience would help her fulfill that dream from long ago.
Francesca Hayward is a Principal ballerina at The Royal Ballet and just a joy to behold. She’s so graceful and lovely. Her vocal abilities don’t match the caliber of the others, but she’s still super sweet as the hopeful and innocent cat, Victoria.
There is some good dancing, although it’s nothing we haven’t see before.
Rum Tum Tugger (Jason Derulo) is so charismatic and fun to watch.
The cast includes Taylor Swift, Francesca Hayward, Idris Elba, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, James Corden, Jason Derulo, and Jennifer Hudson.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:
• When the trailer first came out, it got a TON of dislikes because people were freaked out by the weird CGI/human cat appearances. Some things about it look good, like the ear and tail twitches, but other times, it just looks like people are wearing weird costumes. Kind of creepy on some body shapes and sizes. I was especially embarrassed looking at Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and Rebel Wilson in particular.

As much as I like Rebel Wilson and James Corden, their roles didn’t seem to match the rest of the tone of the movie. It felt like they were in a different movie.
Some characters were introduced and then they were left hanging at the end with no real closure. Strange.
I always thought it was weird during the stage play that certain cats wear fur coats. They do in the movie too. Some wear clothes, although most don’t.
Jennifer Hudson is incredibly talented and I really like her, but it bothered me that she was crying and had a runny nose in every scene she appeared in. She seemed to take the movie a lot more seriously than anyone else.
The shot selection was noticeably bad and strange.
I was awkwardly embarrassed for Sir Ian McKellen when he licked his paws and acted so much like a cat, yet impressed by his dedication to the role.

CAT LINES: