Cast: Christina Ricci, Doug E. Doug, Michael McKean, Bess Armstrong, George Dzunda, Peter Boyle,
Dyan Cannon, Dean Jones, John Ratzenberger, Mark Christopher Lawrence
Director: Bob Spiers
Producer: Richard Simonds
Screenplay: S.M. Alexander and L.A. Karaszewski, based on the screenplay by Gordon Gordon, Midred
Gordon, and Bill Walsh
Cinematography: Jerzy Zielinski
Music: Richard Kendall Gibbs
U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Disney has turned into the studio equivalent of a recycling plant. With respect to live-action features, I'm hard-pressed to think of the last time they came up with a remotely original idea. Their recent 101 Dalmatians was an ineptly-executed remake of the animated classic. Two upcoming films, Jungle 2 Jungle and George of the Jungle, are reworkings of a French picture (Little Indian, Big City) and an old TV cartoon, respectively. In between is sandwiched That Darn Cat, which is loosely based on the 1965 movie of the same name.
With the lone exception of Natalie Portman (Beautiful Girls), Christina Ricci has exhibited far more talent than any performer in her age group. Yet she keeps appearing in mediocre-to-downright-awful movies (a sampling of her recent work includes Now and Then, Casper, and Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain). That Darn Cat doesn't represent a step upwards, and, as I have said before in what has become a stock phrase for reviews of Ricci's films, she's the best thing about this otherwise uninspired production.
The storyline of That Darn Cat obviously isn't designed to get viewers to think. It centers around a bungled kidnapping and the subsequent attempts of the kidnappers to extract a $1 million ransom from the couple (Dyan Cannon, Dean Jones) whose housekeeper was snatched. The crooks have taken their victim to the tiny Boston suburb of Edgefield, where they're holed up in an old, rundown house. When a local girl, Patti Randall (Ricci), believes that her cat has visited the kidnappers' hideout, the FBI, led by agent Zeke Kelso (Doug E. Doug), arrives to investigate. Patti and Zeke team up, and, aided by the four-legged D.C., attempt to foil the dastardly plot.
To give That Darn Cat its due, it will probably work for its young target audience, and it isn't painfully dull for adults to sit through (a criticism I have leveled at many other, recent Disney movies). Most of the humor is expectedly juvenile, but a few bits are genuinely funny, such as the ongoing feud between rival gas station owners (played by John Ratzenberger and Mark Christopher Lawrence). Those who aren't sick of it by now might get a laugh or two out of the Home Alone-type physical comedy as a team of FBI agents bungle their way through the neighborhood while tracking the cat.
At times, the dialogue is unbelievably ripe. Patti, who wants to move to a big city (where all the action is), describes Edgefield as a town that "has the power to suck your brain out of your head." When asked why she always wears black, she responds that "it matches my soul." Even Ricci's unaffected performance can't save such moments. No one, no matter how accomplished they are, can deliver lines like these convincingly.
Doug E. Doug (Cool Runnings), who gets second billing, is disappointingly subdued and unfunny. Only one scene -- where he imitates a cat on the prowl -- utilizes his unique talents. Most of the time he virtually fades into the background, letting Ricci take center stage. Bess Armstrong, as Patti's mother, reminded me a little of Frances McDormand in Fargo (that's not to say that the movies, or the performances, are on the same level). Dean Jones, who played Zeke to Hayley Mills' Patti in the 1965 version, has a small role as the man expected to foot the ransom bill.
That Darn Cat is a little more quirky than many Disney films, although that trait doesn't make it appreciably more watchable. Most of the characters are a little off-center, and there are times when Edgefield reminds us of the kind of small town America envisioned by David Lynch. Also, the cat isn't infected with a case of terminal cuteness. In fact, this scruffy feline doesn't exhibit much personality at all.
What more is there to say about this, or any, Disney film? It's designed for a certain audience, and, if they're not too busy re-seeing Star Wars, they'll probably show up. Although the movie is creatively barren, at least Ricci's fresh performance redeems it to some degree. I suppose there are reasons to see That Darn Cat, but only if you're under twelve and desperate, or accompanying someone in that category.
© 1997 James Berardinelli