Wednesday, August 23, 2006

GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES - one for the ankle-biters alone

After the high-grade entertainment of MONSTER HOUSE it was a bit of a let-down to have to chaperone Kid the Second through GARFIELD 2. (And they call it "quality time".) But as my Godson is a bit too young for the high-amp scares of MONSTER HOUSE I had no choice. In fairness, he seemed to have a great time, as did all the other ankle-biters in the cinema. Unfortunately though, this is not one of those new-wave kids movies that provide as many laughs for the grown-ups, despite the fact that it was directed by the same guy who directed one of my all-time favourite kids flicks: MUPPETS FROM SPACE*

Anyways, back to Garfield. As in the cartoon strip, as any fule kno, Garfield is a smart-talking cat who likes to sit around the house, watch TV, eat lasagne, and kick Odie the dog. His owner Jon is the hapless butt of his jokes. In this movie, Jon is on the verge of proposing to his sweetheart, Liz, when she is called to a vetenary conference to be held in an English castle. Coz that happens. But then this is the kind of England that only exists in the movies - where every journey takes you by Westminster Cathedral and all castles are Howard Castle, famed location of BRIDESHEAD REVISITED. The plot revolves around Garfield being mistaken for his doppelganger, who has inherited the castle from his eccentric old owner. The evil Lord Dargis is plotting to kill the pampered kittie and get his hands on the castle and the related phat cash.

The problem with GARFIELD 2 is that while Bill Murray raises the odd laugh as Garfield there is precious little for the adults. This goes against the grain of the comic strip which satirised human behaviour as much as chronicling the foibles of our pets. I also think Billy Connolly and the rest of the British voice cast are pretty ordinary, perhaps because of the weak material. The US cast is also fairly mediocre, filled as it is with the likes of
Breckin Meyer and Jennifer Love Hewitt - actors neither talented nor attractive enough to star in proper movies. It also seems to be a pretty lazily made movie. I never normally spot continuity errors but even I clocked when Dargis switched suits between shots! Poor show.

GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES is on release in the US and UK. Worldwide release dates can be found
here. *To this day, in my select circle of friends you can use the line, "I am not a shrimp: I am a king prawn" and get a laugh on the thinnest of pretexts.

2 comments:

  1. Man alive, when you think of all the good films that could've had a sequel. Anyway, does anyone else know why Jennifer Love Hewitt still get's to be in films? Aside from having great tits?

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  2. There are actresses with better tits who could pick up those roles. Jessica Alba for one.

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