GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): * 1/2
Let's face it. Garfield is a funny little comic strip that works well in a few frames, as it appears in the newspaper. But, trying to drag out its brief wit into a full length motion picture is essentially attempting the impossible. The reason Garfield works in the first place is because of its inherent simplicity. Each comic strip has one very modest joke, which works because it asks so little from its readers. The jokes are the type that produce more smiles than laughs and aren't particularly worth dwelling on but, within the comic's limited confines, produce just enough entertainment to be satisfying.
The first GARFIELD movie, a lame attempt to bring the world's most famous fat cat to the big screen, completely proved my point. On the list of movies least in need of a sequel, it would have to be high on the list. This second and hopefully last of the Garfield films, GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES, again stars Breckin Meyer as Garfield's master Jon Arbuckle and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Liz, the vet Jon loves but has trouble showing. A very bland Bill Murray again provides the voice for Garfield, the only animated part of the movie. This is lifeless voice talent at its worst. Every time Murray spoke in the movie, my ears cringed.
The story this time is a riff on "The Prince and the Pauper," which has Garfield changing places with a rich cat named Prince, who lives in an English castle and who has just inherited his old master's fortune. The recycled humor ranges from farts to fingers snapped in mouse traps. You've seen it all before. The funniest bit comes when Garfield and Prince do the old mirror routine in front of each other. You've seen this one plenty of times before, but, in a story with little originality, it manages to outshine the other parts.
Overall, I found the experience painful and think our kids deserve better, but the movie was enough to keep our packed audience of little tykes reasonably happy.
GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES runs 1:19. It is rated PG for "some off-color elements" and would be acceptable for all ages.
My nephew William, age 12, and my niece Liana, age 9, both found plenty to tickle their funny bones. William liked the party scene best, and Liana said her favorite part was when "Garfield beat up the bad guy."
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, June 16, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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