Cats (2019)

December 19, 2019 (CN) • Fantasy, Comedy, Drama • 110m

Overview

A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.

Director

T. S. Eliot, Lee Hall, Tom Hooper

Top Billed

Francesca Hayward

Keywords

dance cat musical based on play or musical resurrection based on song, poem or rhyme vignette so bad it’s good bitter baffled bold disapproving disheartening

Where to watch

Free / Included

Netflix

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Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

SWITCH.

⭐ 3/10

December 19, 2019

I was always excited for ‘Cats’, and to learn about it as a musical fan. The first trailer made me more excited, because seeing those god-awful effects only made me want to see it more. I always get excited for big-budget musicals because it means we could get more, but ‘Cats’ just fails on every level. It’s a boring musical with forgettable songs and uninteresting choreography... and then it also fails as a bad film, since it offers no batshit f… read the rest.

Luis_989

⭐ 4/10

December 23, 2019

Theatrical plays or musicals will not always translate well into filmic language, that's well known and will not change, because both media are very different by nature. To question it is to deceive yourself.

Personally I've never believed that Cats is a great musical but perhaps its success says something else but even so a film adaptation in my view just could not work. I didn't see how, especially considering the costumes but it was being m… read the rest.

Louisa Moore - Screen Zealots

March 27, 2020

Sometimes a movie struts its awfulness with such glee that it becomes an enjoyably sadistic pleasure rather than a chore to watch.

Such is the case with “Cats,” the big screen adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1982 musical that became one of Broadway’s longest-running shows. The stage version of “Cats” has grossed over $4 billion dollars, so of course Hollywood had to get their greedy claws in the mix and bring it to the local cineplex (where it promptly flopped). Anyone with a brain could see that all of this would prove to be a huge mistake, because when the source material is god-awful, how would you expect the film to turn out?

Let’s start with the good: the costuming and makeup artistry are both brilliant, if creepy. At first it’s disturbing and laughable to watch humans prance around and groom themselves but it doesn’t take long until you actually start to see them as cats. (And yes, it’s precisely the type of disconcerting feeling that will provide haunting nightmares for years to come). The dancing is beautifully proficient and the choreography creative, with some lovely ballet numbers. Those who enjoy classic theater and dance will find plenty to keep them engaged.

That’s where the positives end.

The movie’s plot closely follows the Broadway play, which means it’s just as awful. The gist is that a tribe of street cats all gather together on the night of the Jellicle moon and perform in a feline talent show so head cat Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench) can decide which cat is worthy to ascend to a new life. It’s a creepy story that’s made even more disturbing when you stop and think about it.

To keep today’s idiot audiences engaged, director Tom Hooper throws in your standard issue fatty-fall-down slapstick gags and crotch hits that are sure to elicit a tornado of laughter. And although every cast member appears downright terrifying as a human/cat hybrid, the worst is the cameo from Taylor Swift as a sexed-up feline provocateur and purveyor of enchanted catnip. Yikes.

Weber’s repetitive songs are even more grating when translated to the screen (but hey, at least there’s “Memory”). The vocal performances are second-rate too. Jennifer Hudson has become a self-parody with her overacting and oversinging. Hudson’s angsty, tear-filled, snot-flying rendition of “Memory” is hilariously awful. Rebel Wilson‘s tap dance feels like an acid trip gone wrong as she trains her army of child-faced mice to dance for her pleasure (as she gleefully bites live cockroaches with human faces in half as they scream for mercy).

I’m not sure if anyone should see this movie of their own accord, but it absolutely could have legs as a midnight movie a’la Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room.”

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Martha

⭐ 7/10

July 26, 2022

I don't understand why people reviewed this so badly. Minus James Corden this was a very amusing take on a musical I have always loved. Ian McKellen shined as Gus. Jennifer Hudson made me cry as Grizabella. Idris Elba was purr-fect as Macavity. Judy Dench was the perfect choice for Old Deuteronomy. The cast was really good, save for James Corden who grossed me out eating like a pig and hitting wrong notes.

GenerationofSwine

⭐ 1/10

January 11, 2023

What?!

I'll be honest, I didn't like the musical back in the 90s, I thought it was just plain awful and kind of pretentious.

But the good news is that this is so much worse. Even Dame Judy Dench doesn't seem to be able to find a footing, and she's a Dame for a reason, she's probably one of the greatest living actresses on the face of the earth... and Cats makes her look utterly incompetent.

It's a cringe fest from start to finish.

And… read the rest.