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Topic: Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat (Read 367 times)

Rhune
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Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
« on: Nov 23^rd, 2003, 12:12am »

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Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
Colorful film makes muffled splat
By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer
Friday, November 21, 2003 Posted: 8:42 AM EST (1342 GMT)

(CNN) -- "Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat" is an eye-popping visual experience, but it's a struggle turning a thin wisp of a book -- just 223 words -- into an 84-minute movie that can hold the attention of anyone over the age of 5 or 6.

Mike Myers is great in the title role, but even this master of physical comedy struggles mightily to fill out this one-dimensional character.

"The Cat In The Hat" boasts the same production team who brought us "Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but there was a whole lot more to that book's story. The best thing about this production is the scenic design -- not surprising, as this is the directorial debut of Bo Welch, the production designer on such movies as "Men In Black" and "Edward Scissorhands."

Since there was little actual story provided by Theodor S. Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), the filmmakers had to invent one. After all, the 1957 book was just supposed to be a primer for first-graders, using a handful of vocabulary words -- not a compelling piece of fiction.

Character sketches
In the book, you only see the Mom's legs in the book's illustrations. Kelly Preston, who plays Mom in the film, has a great set of gams, but the character is fleshed out, complete with a full body and a job as a real estate agent. The kids also get a baby sitter in the film, played by Amy Hill.

Sean Hayes makes an appearance as Mom's germ-phobic boss, Mr. Humberfloob, and the plot involves Mom throwing the company's annual holiday party at her home. Alec Baldwin also has a supporting role as the family's sleazy neighbor, who has designs on the Preston's character.

As in the book, the children (along with the Cat) are the principal characters. Spencer Breslin plays Conrad, who constantly breaks the rules; Dakota Fanning plays his sister Sally, a total control freak and Little Miss Goody Two Shoes. They both need a lesson or two about having fun, and the Cat is determined to guide them into mayhem.

Disasters and lessons

The best part of the film is the talking goldfish (voiced by Hayes), who delivers some of the classic lines from the book. He's the voice of reason when Mom is suddenly called into work and sharply warns the kids not to mess up the house before the big party. The moment she leaves, the baby-sitter falls asleep -- and the Cat shows up out of the blue.

After numerous disasters orchestrated by the Cat, involving tons of purple goo, the house is completely destroyed. And that's pretty much it. Not much for a movie.

In the end, the kids learn their lessons: Sally lets go of control and learns how to be spontaneous, and Conrad discovers the importance of following rules. Great lessons for a 5- or 6-year-old. Come to think of it, those are good lessons for Saddam Hussein; a pity Dr. Seuss probably wasn't too big in Iraq in the '50s.

But I digress.

As a film, "The Cat in the Hat" isn't much, really. It's perfect for parents looking for harmless entertainment to keep the young ones engaged during the holidays, but less than perfect for anyone else.

"Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat" opens nationwide on Friday, November 21, and is rated PG.

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Addams
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Re: Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
« Reply #1 on: Nov 23^rd, 2003, 5:02pm »

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Well the show brought in 40 million dollars even if the critics hated it.

I chose not to see it based on the critics reviews that I read in the Toronto papers. Has anyone seen it and can give us their own review?

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Rhune
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Re: Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
« Reply #2 on: Nov 23^rd, 2003, 5:21pm »

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Everything I've heard/read is that critics didn't enjoy it and have said things along the line of don't go unless you have a kid to bring. It seems to me then that what they are disliking is the fact that it's not geared towards adults at all. For example there were several jokes in Nemo that really were for the adult audience that made it enjoyable for adults without children and critics to enjoy it. Cat in the Hat seems like it is really just geared towards children and does come with a set of tongue in cheek jokes for the parent accompanying them...but that doesn't make it less enjoyable of a film for children.

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Rhune
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Re: Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
« Reply #3 on: Nov 24^th, 2003, 10:19am »

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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Critics were cat-haters but "Dr. Seuss the Cat in the Hat" had families purring.

Starring Mike Myers as the whiskered trickster of Dr. Seuss' children's book, "The Cat in the Hat" overcame scathing reviews to debut as the No. 1 weekend movie with ticket sales of $40.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Halle Berry's supernatural thriller "Gothika" premiered in second place with $19.6 million while the previous weekend's top movie, "Elf," slipped to No. 3 with $19.1 million.

Playing in 3,464 theaters, "The Cat in the Hat" averaged $11,570 a cinema, compared to $8,237 in 2,382 theaters for "Gothika."

Critics were even more unkind to "The Cat in the Hat" than they were to the earlier live-action Dr. Seuss adaptation, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." That movie had a $55.1 million debut weekend and survived bad reviews to become 2000's top-grossing flick with $260 million.

Reviewers called "The Cat in the Hat" visually overblown and bereft of story. Some called it "kitty litter."

Universal Studios, domestic distributor for both movies, does not expect "The Cat in the Hat" to rival the total for "The Grinch," whose saving grace even among harsh critics was a manic performance by Jim Carrey.

"The Grinch" also had appeal for teens and adults who fondly recalled the TV cartoon version, while "The Cat in the Hat" was made solely for young children, said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal.

"It's not about entertaining parents or reviewers. It's about entertaining kids, and that's what happened," Rocco said. "It's whether or not your audience was satisfied, and every time I saw the movie with an audience of kids, they loved it."

"The Cat in the Hat" may hold up well through the holidays, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Little kids, they want what they want, and they don't care about reviews," Dergarabedian said. "Parents do have some say in the decision, but most of the time they'll just go along with the kids."

For adult crowds, the drama "21 Grams" opened impressively in limited release. A film-festival hit, "21 Grams" took in $256,434 in just eight New York City and Los Angeles theaters, averaging a whopping $32,054. It expands to about 60 theaters Wednesday.

The film stars Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio Del Toro as strangers tossed together in a somber exploration of grief, vengeance and mortality. All three are potential Academy Awards nominees.

"The Matrix Revolutions" continued its box-office swoon, taking in $6.7 million, down 59 percent from the previous weekend. It likely will top out at barely half the $282 million gross of its predecessor, last spring's "The Matrix Reloaded."

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anniam
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Re: Review: 'Cat in the Hat' weak and flat
« Reply #4 on: Nov 29^th, 2003, 11:53pm »

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A friend saw this movie and described the "cat" as lecherous and also found some of the language offensive ( he had his 5 year old with him). I think that I will wait for video for this one and preview first.

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