Cats March 30, 2020
I saw the theatrical version of Cats twice. The essence of
Cats is its beauty and simplicity. Wonderful
songs, great dancing and minimal staging
defined it. The story is based on a collection
of poems by T.S. Elliot. Why Tom Hooper, the director, decided to blow up this story
into a rambling quasi Busby Berkeley production
is a mystery? The cast members are extremely talented, well
known and expensive. They include: James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason
Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson,
and Francesca Hayward. The production cost $100m and the box office was $76m.
Adverting costs usually doubles production, so we are talking about $200m all
in. You may remember NYC cabs with
plastic roof advertisements sporting cat ears.
Is this film in the company of past cinematic bombs like, Heaven’s
Gate, Pluto Nash or Hudson Hawks; I think not. Jennifer Hudson sings a
powerful rendition of Memories. There were some impressive dance numbers
and Francesca Hayward ,who is a principal ballerina, gave graceful performances. Some actors were nearly
unrecognizable such as Idris Elba. I think the silliest thing in the movie were
the giant sets. If a cat sat in a chair the chair was huge making the actor look small (if you ever saw
the children’s movie The Borrowers, you know what I mean) . Their cat tails
danced and ears wiggled thanks to CG. The costumes were an abundance of fur but
the makeup was very good. Judi Dench looked like a huge dust ball. Ian McKellen
was wasted and had a minor role. Rebel Wilson kept on spreading her legs with
her tail in between. If she was trying to imitate a cat, she looked more like a
plump burlesque dancer.
One really bad scene was when the cats were rummaging
through garbage cans and eating what were obviously cheap plastic props. It was
cartoonish. Also Hooper interjected dialogue which was not part of the original
Carts and it did not help the production.
Why did I spend $20 to see this on Amazon Prime? I guess it
was morbid curiosity. The director is no light weight. He directed the King’s
Speech and Les Misérables . The cast is outstanding and the songs
are classics although they did add some diddlies that fell flat . The original
Cats was a small tight production. What Hooper did was supersize it which diminished its essence and soul. Unless
you want to send your unemployment money foolishly for On Demand wait for HBO.
.
