You Need To Calm Down
In July of 2019, Universal Pictures released the first trailer for Cats, a film based on the long-running Broadway and West End musical. Unless you’ve been living under a rock since July of last year, you probably know that the web had a field day with the look of the human actors in the trailer who were turned into cats through the use of CGI. People complained that the cats looked too human or that they were downright creepy. Words like “nightmare,” “haunt,” and “horrific” littered tweets, Facebook posts, and every other social media outlet. When the film was finally released, the professional critics dug their claws into the film by telling everyone that it was the worst film that they’ve seen all year long. It seemed as if they were all battling one another in order to get in the smartest and nastiest digs at the film and/or its cast.
Guess what? They are all wrong.
This film is fantastic. It’s bizarre, wonderful, and most important of all, fun. While critics were analyzing each and every minute detail of the film in order to find yet another zinger to throw into a review that everyone will read, share, and, hopefully, get the critic recognized, myself and others simply paid for our ticket, sat back in our chairs, and let the film be whatever it would end up being.
We enjoyed it for the music, the breathtaking CGI shots of the moon, the Thames, and Big Ben, and for the catchy musical numbers that celebrated all of the featured cats. We found that elusive plot that all of the critics and naysayers couldn’t pinpoint. We laughed at James Corden, Rebel Wilson, and others as they commanded our attention in their respective songs. We watched as Jason Derulo embraced Rum Tug Tugger in all of his tomcat glory. Some of us shed a tear as Jennifer Hudson’s Grizabella belted out the epic song Memory and cheered on Laurie Davidson as his Mister Mistoffelees attempted to conjure up Old Deuteronomy (Dame Judi Dench) from wherever Macavity (Idris Elba) had her hidden away.
We looked beyond the uncanny valley, a term tossed around in more reviews than I can count in an apparent attempt for critics to appear intelligent, and saw these creatures for what they were: Cats. We sang the songs we knew and left the theater singing the ones we just learned.
In short, we enjoyed the movie. You might enjoy it as well. This film isn’t for everyone, but for those that it connects with, it will become something that you’ll want to watch over and over.
Mild Spoilers Ahead
The film opens with Victoria (Francesca Hayward) being unceremoniously dumped into an alley by her owner. The music playing throughout this sequence sets the ethereal tone for the entire film. Victoria is discovered by the Jellicle Cats, a gang of cats that question her through the song Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats in order to see if she can become part of their gang. They decide to allow her to join them conditionally and tell her about the Jellicle Ball, which is happening that very night. According to Munkustrap (Robbie Fairchild), Old Deuteronomy will choose one Jellicle Cat to ascend to the Heaviside Layer. Here, the cat can choose a new life and be reincarnated into whatever they wish.
From that point on, the film becomes a sequence of musical numbers that introduce all of the potential picks to ascend to the Heaviside Layer. We are introduced to Jennyanydots (Wilson), the Rum Tug Tugger (Derulo), Bustopher Jones (Corden), Skimbleshanks (Steven McRae), and Gus (Ian McKellan). We also catch glimpses of the mysterious cat, Macavity (Elba), and Grizabella (Hudson), an outcast that was once beautiful and is now forced into the shadows by the other Jellicles.
Victoria gets herself into a little trouble along the way with Mungojerrie (Danny Collins) and Rumpleteazer (Naoimh Morgan), a pair of cat burglars that show her how fun a life of crime can be when it’s done right. During this sequence we get to see Mr. Mistoffelees (Davidson) come to Victoria’s rescue whenever a dog attempts to attack her. Mistoffelees has an obvious crush on Victoria at the beginning of the film, and she begins to return the affection after he saves her.
The film comes to a climax at the Jellicle Ball. When Old Deuteronomy arrives to pick the feline that will ascend to the Heaviside Layer, it’s noted that all of the contestants have mysteriously vanished. Then a crescent moon descends from the ceiling. Seductively laying across it is Bombalurina (Taylor Swift), a vampy vixen that sings Macavity: The Mystery Cat. While singing, Bombalurina, Mungojerrie, and Rumpleteazer sprinkle catnip all over the Jellicles, sending them into a frenzy. Macavity appears and insists that he is the only choice to ascend to the Heaviside Layer, but Old Deuteronomy refuses to pick him. In anger he uses magic to whisk her away.
The Jellicles demand to know where Macavity has taken Old Deuteronomy and the other cats. Macavity and Bobalurina escape, leaving Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer at the mercy of the Jellicles. Victoria believes that Mister Mistoffelees can conjure Old Deuteronomy back. Mistoffelees doesn’t believe that he can do it, but with the support of the other Jellicles and through the singing of my favorite song in the film, Mr. Mistoffelees, he succeeds in bringing Old Deuteronomy back. The other cats are saved as well, and a certain feline (who’ll remain nameless) is chosen to ascend to the Heaviside Layer. Who is it? You’ll have to check out the film in order to find out!
I love this film. There are so many things that I love about it that I can’t list all of them. That being said, here are my favorite highlights and just a couple of negatives.
Pros
- The music. Good Lord, the music. It’s so wonderful, catchy, and easy to sing along with both during and after the film.
- The cinematography is brilliant. Bright neon colors and deep blues make for a beautiful backdrop to the wide shots in this film. The closeups catch all of the pain in certain characters’ faces as well.
- The story is chaotic, but simply listening to the songs and actually watching the film with an open mind makes it easy to pick up on the plot.
- The actors, save for one, all do excellent jobs. Laurie Davidson is the greatest surprise in this film and I was also very fond of Rebel Wilson and Francesca Hayward’s performances.
- The overall bigness of the film. It felt like I was watching a massive movie on the big screen thanks to the cinematography.
Cons
- While Taylor Swift definitely knows her way around a pop song, she struggled to fit into this film. She was miscast in my opinion, and her portrayal of Bombalurina was awkward. I understand why Universal put her in the film (to draw in young female viewers and a few older weird guys that want to see Swift as a cat), but she just wasn’t the best fit for her role. Vocally, she wasn’t up to par with the rest of the singers in this film, either.
- The lone new song in this film, Beautiful Ghosts, fails to make any real impact. Written by Swift and Webber, it’s the weakest track in the entire film. Both Hayward (in the film) and Swift (in the credits) perform the song, and while Hayward’s vocals are stronger, the lyrics just drag the entire performance down.
Yes, this film features singing and dancing cockroaches and mice. I understand that some folks might be creeped out by the look of the cats in the film. I’ll even admit that the CGI is a bit dodgy at times. That being said, this film is just too much fun to pass up. There has already been talk of the film becoming the next Rocky Horror Picture Show and, as far as I’m concerned, that sounds great. This film is bizarre, insane, beautiful, and fun all at the same time.
Give it a chance.
As always, thanks for reading. Feel free to give your own thoughts in the comments section.
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