Corporate Line: Mike Myers stars in the title role of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat, the film adaptation of the beloved literary classic. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss was first published in 1957, and remains one of the top ten best-selling hardcover children’s books of all time. The mischievous feline visitor in the striped stove-pipe hat makes his big screen debut with this live-action production, which will bring the off-kilter Dr. Seuss characters – as well as some new ones created especially for the film – to life on the big screen.
The Good: The Cat in the Hat is full of amazing scenery and creates one wonderful fantastical atmosphere. There are cool gadgets and gizmos. Much of the film stands only because of this excellent fantasy. Although it isn’t quite as powerful as the one the Grinch threw at us.
The Bad: Mike Meyer’s version of the Cat is a mix of a Jewish Austin Powers with a bunch of the Oz’s Cowardly Lion thrown in just for the feline effect. Meyer spits out more chutzpa and ‘oys’ than you can shake a yam mica at. I have no idea how or why his Cat became this character. What I do know is that it doesn’t work. I kept waiting for Meyers to cry out for his need for “courage.” It’s embarrassing to watch the lack of originality brought to the part. Even more astonishing is how Meyers will throw in a little Austin Powers, the Scots Man or characters he played in days long gone on Saturday Night Live. It’s all shtick and it stinks. If I wanted to see sketches I’d watch Comedy Central.
Meyers and crew pull out stereotypes left and right to try and take up time in what is a complete void of a film. They kick some rednecks and hippies while they are down. It could have been all in good fun, if it were funny. We’ve seen all these clichés before; same cliché-different hat.
The fish is no help. The kids aren’t either. Mom, nah, is a bore. Alec Baldwin still can’t act his way back into a lead role and even clean freak Sean Hayes has barely enough screen time to even matter.
And the plug for the film studio’s Universal Studios was in poor taste. Not to mention the plug for the soundtrack and Meyer’s own career. And while I’m at it…does anyone remember the original Cat in the Hat including a rave scene? I didn’t think so.
Frankly: The Cat in the Hat makes the Grinch look like the Wizard of Oz. And Jim Carrey makes Mike Meyers look as if he doesn’t have enough talent to carry a bad Seuss movie. Meyers is talented but he’s no rubber-faced-freak-of-nature like Jim Carrey. The Grinch might not have been great, but at least it was entertaining. I’ve had more fun watching a five minute Mike Meyers sketch on Saturday Night Live than watching an eighty-plus minute movie of him trying to do a sketch.
Somewhere the Cowardly Lion is crying again, but this time it’s not for fear from the lack of courage-it’s because this Cat is giving a bad name to cats everywhere.
+ Charlie Craine
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.