I have to wonder why so many people are crying foul over the Mike Myers film, The Cat in the Hat. Is it really as horrifyingly bad as you claim it to be, or are you just mad that the filmmakers didn't create the perfect adaptation of your beloved storybook? I've read in a lot of reviews that much of the plot in the film wasn't in the original book. Well of course! How in the world did you expect Universal Studios to make a 90 minute movie out of a book with less than 20 pages? Let's just give them the benefit of the doubt and a break, okay? I liked the movie, despite its possibility of being forgetable in a few months, and I think that those who are saying it's the worst to come out of Hollywood in decades needs to take a chill pill. There are dozens of family films out there that are far worse than The Cat in the Hat: See Spot Run, anyone? Or how about any of the Pokemon movies? See, when you start comparing, this doesn't look so terrible now, does it? Granted, it's not perfect by any means. I thought the buildings screamed "Film set," and tried a bit too hard to bring the story to life. People, there's a reason Dr. Seuss' illustrations look good on paper. Because in real life, they're grotesque and odd. Sorry, but the production aspect came off as fake, in my opinion. Also, the character Alec Baldwin portrayed was pretty much useless. I'm guessing the film needed a villain, but kids won't have any idea what he's doing here. Do you really think that kids under 13 or 14 are going to understand his plan of putting the kids in military school? Generally I find myself on the fence about most of the humor: While I thoroughly enjoyed Myer's jokes and one-liners, there is almost nothing here in the way of comedy that a younger kid would appreciate. Sure, the cat gets wacked in his twig and berries, but other than that I'm afraid kids will be bored. As for me, I dug Myers all the way. It's like they just put a camera in front of the comedian and said, "Do your thing." Favorite lines: When he talks about murder and plays a dramatic chord on a Seussian keyboard, plucks his whiskers in order to add some suspensful music, and when we discover that he's been the narrator for the film the entire time. The fish was annoying, since he didn't get any good lines, and while the two main kids were okay they were nothing to write home about. And why oh why is TV's "Beans" in this movie? I can't stand that creepy little turd. He looks like a squirrel who's jammed one too many acorns into his puffy little mouth. Ugh, someone kick him out of show business! So all in all, while The Cat in the Hat may not be what everyone was hoping for, it satisfied my tastes. Not a classic, mind you, but certainly not the biggest bomb of the year as some have declared it to be. 2.5/4 stars; P.S. I think the film adaptation of Green Eggs and Ham should star David Spade as Sam and D.L. Hughley as the grumpy fellow who refuses to eat the title dish. And a special cameo could be made by Robin Williams as the Fox in Socks! Eew, that sounds horrible. Never mind.
Review of The Cat in the Hat
