From the DVD Shelf: Josh reviews The Cat’s Meow (2001)

It’s funny — although I acknowledge that Peter Bogdanovich is a significant, influential director, I must admit with some embarrassment that I’ve seen very few of his films.  Many of his ground-breaking films from the ’70s remain, as-yet-unseen, on my lengthy “to-watch” list: The Last Picture Show, What’s Up Doc?, Paper Moon, etc.  I actually know Mr. Bogdanovich more as a knowledgeable film historian (his audio commentary on the DVD of Citizen Kane, for example, is magnificent and enlightening) than I do as a director.

But I’m a big fan of a film that he made in 2001, The Cat’s Meow.  The film is based on Hollywood whispers (“the whisper told most often”) about the events of a fateful boat cruise hosted by legendary media mogul William Randolph Hearst in 1924 that (might have) resulted in the untimely death of director Thomas Ince.

As the film tells the tale, W.R. Hearst invited an assemblage of show-biz folks (and a few gossip-writers) to join him on a yacht cruise in celebration of Mr. Innes’ birthday.  One of the guests was Charlie Chaplin (played by comedian Eddie Izzard), who may or may not have been involved at the time with Hearst’s very young starlet wife, Marion Davies (played by Kirsten Dunst).  (Of course, Hearst’s relationship with Marion Davies was most famously depicted — not in a positive light — in Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane, which resulted in Hearst’s attempts to block that film’s release.)  Though the weekend was supposed to be a fun getaway, it seems that almost every guest on Hearst’s yacht arrived with their own agenda.  The fun of the film is in watching these powerful Hollywood personalities bounce off one another, as each guests’s true ambitions bubble just below the surface.

There’s a lot of humor to be found in the film, although it shouldn’t be mistaken for a farce.  The Cat’s Meow is actually a pretty sad story — this boat cruise did not have a happy ending for many of its guests.

Mr. Bogdanovich assembled an interesting mix of actors for the film.  I really enjoyed Eddie Izzard’s performance as Chaplin.  He doesn’t really look like Chaplin, but still, the casting is inspired.  Izzard really nails the charisma of Chaplin, without falling into mimicry.  It seems to me that Kirsten Dunst isn’t that well thought of as a serious actress, but I thought she was terrific here as Davies.  Unlike Mr. Izzard, she really does look the part — and she brought a surprising amount of soul to the performance.  (You’ll have a lot more empathy for Marion Davies when watching The Cat’s Meow than when watching Citizen Kane!)  Edward Herrmann (whom my wife was excited to recognize as Richard Gilmore from Gilmore Girls) knocks it out of the park as W.R. Hearst, and I also really enjoyed Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride, Robin Hood: Men in Tights) as the unfortunate Innes.  The man can play smarm.

The film was adapted by screenwriter Steven Peros from his play of the same name.  In many ways the film feels like a play, which is a strength and also a weakness.  The Cat’s Meow is very tightly plotted and tightly written, and it’s a joy to watch these actors move in and out of scenes exchanging snappy patter with one another.  There are also, unfortunately, some scenes that feel very “stagey” where the acting & delivery of dialogue just doesn’t work.  These moments just felt “off” to me — and once I realized that this film had been adapted from a play I understood why.  They’re moments that I could definitely see working in a theatre, but just didn’t play in a movie.  But thankfully, those off moments are few and far between, and most of The Cat’s Meow works like gangbusters.

This isn’t a GREAT film, and it surely pales before Mr. Bogdanovich’s earlier work (which I someday hope to see!).  But it’s a film that I’ve really dug both times that I’ve seen it on DVD, and it sits proudly on my DVD shelf.  If the cast and subject matter interests you, it’s definitely worth a shot.