Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-26 01:15:02

They didn't listen to the tagline: "Don't mess with the hat"

The idea that Mike Meyers was going to play the title character in "The Cat in the Hat" certainly sounded like a good idea and the makeup job is pretty good, but as soon as he shows up in this 2003 film and starts channeling either Bert Lahr or Linda Richman (I am not sure which) for some reason you get a bad feeling. When you add an inane subplot involving Alec Baldwin as a neighbor with plans for the mom (Kelly Preston) of precocious kids Conrad (Spencer Breslin) and Sally (Dakota Fanning), that bad feeling only grows and then comes the point where you realize that this film is just not funny and that is game, set, match for one of the most disappointing children's films ever made. There are some good points to the film. Redoing the Dreamworks bit at the start of the movie in the illustration style of Dr. Seuss was a nice touch and the production design by Alex McDowell(currently working on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory") is in keeping with the spirit of the beloved author and his cherished book. But then people start showing up and talking, at which point your mind is consumed with visions of frantic grave spinning. Adults love the book too and our fond memories of reading it for the first gazillion couple of times is what draws us here, not the promise of adult humor directed narrowly above the heads of the small fry.I am not really all that concerned with how much of the blame has to do with Meyers and his presence, both in terms of ad libs and writing to his peculiar style of humor, and how much is because screenwriters Alec Berg, David Mandel, and Jeff Schaffer were trying to expand the story to fill up a great big movie like this one. The added sibling rivalry element is fine (he is compulsively messing up and she is a control freak), but letting Baldwin run around and be annoying was a big mistake while the bits with mom's job and the baby sitter were both unnecessary. The original story of "The Cat in the Hat" was about what happened between two kids and the Cat in the Hat while their mother was not about. There was an irate fish and the troublemaking twins Thing 1 and Thing 2, but that was it and if the people making this movie could not make it work with those characters then tossing in this other nonsense was not going to help.The humor represented by what Baldwin's Quinn does and what happens to the babysitter Mrs. Kwan (Amy Hill) are both way beyond the pale. Dr. Seuss did not do potty jokes nor was he malicious. Theodore Geisel was creative and imaginative, while those responsible for this travesty are woefully bereft of those qualities. Dr. Seuss wrote stories to inspire children to read and here the goal is to make money (certainly they made a lot less than they thought they would: the film cost $109 million and grossed only $100 million domestically). I would want to draw some lesson for future reference having to do with never trying to turn Dr. Seuss into anything more than a half-hour television program and not a bloated 82-minute constrosity, but we all know that Hollywood is slow to learn anything. Apparently there are some people not even Dr. Seuss can teach.

2012-05-25 12:01:42

So sad.

I thought this was going to be so much better than what it really was. They took all the scenes that should have been in the movie and deleted them. I only laughed one time throughout the entire film. This is worth skipping, you'll be left beating yourself up for spending money on it.

misswotever 2012-05-25 11:52:51

What is bad about this movie?

This movie has generally had poor comments,from the ADULTS.This is achildren's movie,and me and my family have rented it out severaltimes,and thoroughly enjoyed it.To be able to appreciate a children'smovie,you have to be a child. There are lots of laughs in it,andsometimes the most cheesy films are the funniest.Like this one. All myfriends like this movie,my brother likes the bit where the Cat does thecooking show,along with myself. What is bad about this movie?Its afamily comedy,that children think is funny.The cat done by Mike Myers was quite entertaining,and Sally and Conradwere quite funny.The bit where cat gets hit with the pinnate is alaugh.Movies aren't always aimed at ADULTS.Children like different kinds ofmovies,and children find different things funny to what adults findfunny.Luv Alix

diegoavilarodriguez 2012-05-25 01:23:59

Group Breaker Reviews: the cat in the hat

Well, I was 9 when I saw the film and I had read the book before thisand so I was excited to see this film, in group breaker, I talk aboutfilms I didn't like but many loved and films I loved but many hated,this is where the cat in the hat comes in.Now first problem people have is that its targeted for kids and yet hassome adult jokes like Super Hydrolic Instant Transporter (S.H.I.T) orwhen the cat says, dirty ho, people start thinking that this is aproblem, but not really, I saw it when I was 9 and I didn't know whathe meant til I was 13,the purpose of this film was to entertainchildren, I was a kid and laughed my ass off so job well done, itentertained them.Now speaking as a 17 year old, its still funny, but comedy is sosubjective, you have to understand the type of humor this film has,though it may seem a little underrated for kids, most kids won'tunderstand the joke and the ones that do will still laugh. If you liketoilet humor, then you might enjoy this like I did. But know that as anadaption it doesn't seem that good, I mean after all, the book was soshort it was hard to imagine it becoming a full length feature film, soobviously, characters had to be added, and other more things had tohappen. And honestly, I have to say that if the film wouldn't of hadthe toilet humor it would have a dull children's movie, don't get mewrong its meant for children but the idea of the humor was so that itwould be enjoyed by both children and young adults or teenagers, itwould be like watching a winnie the pooh movie, only kids will find itamusing and we will just be seating for an hour and a half trying tomake the best of it.Don't be so hard on this film just cause you're not into the humor, thefilm is good fun for the whole family.

bethn 2012-05-23 23:27:06

Boycott this piece of trash and other Mike Myers junk

This is the movie that is making me boycott Mike Myers - taking a simplebook and making "Haunted Mansion" with Eddie Murphy an Oscar-caliber movie. As long as we watch this trash, they'll make more of it. But I'm done. MikeMyers needs some new schtick. He has the potential, but I'd rather watchcheese mold than increase his Hollywood clout if he turns out trash aftertrash.

2012-05-23 16:05:18

Children's' Art for Adults, Too!

I would love watching this movie just for the art alone - art in thearchitecture, the fashion, and the interior decoration! It's as if theworld's greatest artists, architects, fashion designers and animatorscollaborated to create an entire world in one style just to create ahuge fashion statement! The style and color coordination are justfabulous and adorable! So are the characters - even the despicableones, like the boss, the boy friend, and the babysitter! Then there's the dialog and the action! I find it hilarious! I watch itover and over! I also like the subtle sexuality. Mom looks so hot, it'sno wonder the Cat pops an instant boner when he sees her portrait,which he then turns into a centerfold and swipes right in front of herchildren.There are several other subtly sexual scenes, like the momentary clipof Paris Hilton dancing in a disco, and a closeup of mom's feet in highheels.This is such a visual, sensual, humorous and erotic feast, I wassurprised to see it only has a three-star rating! I guess that justgoes to show that most people fail to appreciate art and creativity,and wouldn't know it if they were immersed in it!

2012-05-21 20:33:16

CAT IN THE HAT

I LAUGHED.....I CRIED........I WROTE BAD CHECKS!!!! FUN MOVIE!!!MY KIDS AND I HAVE REALLY ENJOYED IT.

johnymutton 2012-05-21 14:35:43

This really wasn't that good now was it

I like Mike Meyers alot, and although the movie was very well made, thismovie just wasn't very good.Things I liked:The film looks great, the special effects are amazing, the cgi is seamless,even Mike Meyers in the cat suit looked very good.The town was amazing.The valley shot that started the movie was amazing.Even the credits, although overtly commercial had a nice seussfeelThings I didn't like:The shameless plug for universal studiosThe dance number was boring.The jokes weren't really funny.The cgi fish didn't really have much personality, not like "FindingNemo."The plot was very thin.Overall I would give this film a rating of 5 out of 10 which is pretty lowfor me. I am glad I saw it, but I don't think it was worth the matinee priceI paid.

georgekirby70 2012-05-21 02:19:32

Not Something I'd pull out the hat, but had some funny moments

This film is the live action version of Dr Seuss's classic story, CatIn the Hat.I'd just like to point out the good things in this movie. There weren'tvery many, just funny jokes.The funniest bit in my opinion was when he was talking about a carcalled " Super Hydrolic Instintanious Transporter" (S.H.I.T) The bitwhere he says " Dirty Hoe" cracked me up as well.But this film had a lot more bad things than good things. The number 1worst thing was crappy special effects. They couldn't even make thehouses or the background look real. And today, even the most crappiestfilms can do that! The costumes (apart from the cat's costume) wereterrible. The script was an abomination! The acting was OK, a lot ofthe characters however (including the cat) were very irritating! At thestart,for some reason, Conrad was being crazy by covering himself withbread and food and then sliding down the stairs like a maniac! I waslike "WTF"! Larwance "Larry" was the worst character! He kept sneakinginto the mom's house and stealing beer! Seriously,can he just buy somefrom the shop like a normal person?!The babysitter was kinda funny,kinda annoying. And the cat, he was justinsane! Well I guess he's supposed to be! :DI don't recommend this film, but I recommend watching it for the funnyparts!

Jeff 2012-05-20 06:54:18

Best Movie of ALL time

I'm sitting here reading some reviews and I dont know whats wrong withsomepeople. This movie is awesome. The acting is superb, even the childrenarewonderful. Dakota is such a great actress, she's destined to become veryfamous. The sets are beautifully done. I loved this movie, its good forthekids, and funny for the adults too. I highly recommend it, fun foreveryone.People should like movies for their quality of other things besidesviolenceand sex. This movie is awesome OH YEAHHHH!!!

2012-05-20 15:03:02

Awesome Kids Movie

My kids love this movie. Mike Myers as always is hysterical. As for the bad reviews--lighten up you watching a movie about a cat that can talk--really. Big hit with all kids I know...

2012-05-20 02:29:37

Fantastic suprise

This review is from: Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat (Full Screen Edition) (DVD) I passed by this movie several times with zero interest because I thought it would be for 3-4 year olds. Then I saw it at the library and it's free to check out so I thought what the heck. I absolutely loved this movie! I had zero expectations for it and it turned out to be incredibly funny. It is not just for preschoolers but older children and adults would love it too. I did not like one part of the movie with a hoe that had a double meaning because it was crude and not funny, but the rest of the movie was funny. I laughed every few seconds. I would recommend this to all age groups, not just young children because it's very funny even to adults.

2012-05-18 07:31:59

We all loved it!

My Wife, my 13 yr old, my 11 and my 6 year who has Downs Sydrome and I all really loved it. We watched it at least three times together over a weekend and it is now one of my little guy's favorites. There are very funny things for the adults, the teens, the pre-teens and little kids. Are we missing something? Why did and does this movie get bad reviews?Anyway, we all love it!

Panner55 2012-05-17 16:04:05

They should never have let this cat out of the bag.

There is no way to avoid a comparison between The Cat in the Hat andThe Grinch Who Stole Christmas, so let's get that part out of the way.First of all, let me start by saying that I think Grinch was anunderrated and unappreciated film. Cat was... well, just awful.Jim Carey was cast because he is a brilliant physical comedian, andfearlessly commits to over the top, outrageous characters. Mike Myersfell back on his old bag of tricks.Why, why, why Mike Myers?? The kids could care less, and the AustinPowers demographic isn't going to spy this film. So, what was thestudio thinking?The Cat was also apparently related to Linda Richmond. Can we talk? Whya New York Accent? Not entirely consistent with anything Dr. Seuss hasever written. Myers was even allowed to sneak in his Scottish shtick. Iwonder how many different voices the director and the studio tried toedit out of before they just gave in and said "as long as you don't sayfahklempt', you can keep the accents." Meyers never seemed to find anysort of comfort, either with the costume, make-up, or dialogue.The jokes, what few there were, were crude and age inappropriate. WhenMyers picks up a garden hoe and delivers to the camera: "dirty ho",everything but the rim shot was missing, and even that wouldn't havehelped.The same folks who created 'Whoville', clearly had a hand in thecreation of the town and the houses in 'Cat'. The sets and props werevery appealing, giving the viewer a much needed distraction from thebad writing, direction, and Myers.There was some fun to be had with Alec Baldwin and Kelly Preston.Dakota Fanning was the only actor who seemed to be aware she was in amovie based on a Dr. Seuss classic, and stayed true to the genre.Call the SPCA. This Cat should be neutered and never be allowed toreproduce again. Please, please, no sequel.

Skorpyos 2012-05-17 11:17:47

the "Cat" is pure "scat"

This movie was torturing from beginning to end. I can't believe somethingthis bad makes it to be big screen, it would be more interesting to watch my80 year-old neighbor watering her plants for 70 minutes. Plus, this is atotal offense to Dr. Seuss who actually loved language and wanted to teachothers the art of reading, and it's offensive to us when you have this inmind and then you hear the cat roaring "U dirty hoe" at a gardening tool. Don't watch it, it's the WORST adaptation of a literary work and a spit inthe face to classic book fans.

Texas2step 2012-05-16 21:26:45

Unbelievably unfunny

Dr. Suess will be rolling over in his grave on this one. An incredibly stupid movie, with horrible acting, in almost every way.Do not, do not waste your money on this dog. The only redeeming quality were the visuals which were pretty cool, but that couldn't overcome the stupidity of the story, the crude jokes, the innuendo, and mr. myers mugging for the camera.I wouldn't even waste a rental fee on this dog.

nakais 2012-05-09 10:39:02

The kids had nothing to do until an unexpected visitor arrived.

I was not impressed with this movie. The humor was poor anddistasteful. This was not appropriate for young children, because therewere some implied language. The humor was also too immature forteenagers and adults to like. I hardly found any similarities to theoriginal Dr. Seuss story. It was disappointing to see such a popularchildren's story destroyed. Having the over-eager boss in the movie wasvery unnecessary, and no one in the theater found it amusing. MikeMyers is a talented comedian, but even he couldn't save it. I did likethe costumes; they were like the drawings in the book. The idea wascute, but it didn't work.

2012-05-08 23:31:34

The Book is Better

I rented this video for a fun little movie that didn't require a lot of attention. Good thing I wasn't paying 100% attention to it, because then I would have felt like I wasted an hour and a half of my day.Even though it's a children's story...the book is still better. Dakota Fanning and Spencer Breslin do a fine job in the movie, but the rest of the cast is not that great at all. Alec Baldwin is disgusting as the evil boyfriend. Mike Myers can't hold a candle to Jim Carrey's version of the Grinch. He uses strange voices that don't work for me. In another review someone said he sounded like the cowardly lion and I agree. It just wasn't funny to me. Colorful and Suessical in some senses, but just not funny.

jlee-52 2012-05-08 14:49:32

See it once you'll hate it. See it 5 times you love it!

When I first saw this movie several years ago I hated it. Like everyoneelse I was expecting Dr. Suess's Cat in the Hat; I was completelydisappointed. This movie was too strange, too weird and wacky.Six months later I saw it again and something strange happened; I beganto see things in it that I liked. I liked the cat, I liked the kids, Iliked Larry, .... The rest is history; now it is one of my favoritemovies.If you go into this movie expecting Suess's Cat in the Hat you'll besorely disappointed; as you can verify by the movie's reviews. However!(as the cat says) give it some time then watch it again, and again andagain. Now we laugh and copy the cat; many of his lines have become ourhousehold phrases such as "I'm Sooooo Excited!" and "Anything?Anything! Anything? Anything!...".The trouble with a movie review is that usually people write them aftertheir first time seeing a movie; so only your first impression istaken. What if after seeing a movie 5 times you find that you really dolike it but the review you wrote after seeing it once labeled ithorrible? As a result, despite the reviews, I predict video sales forthis movie will soar and nearly every kid on the block will have his orher own copy.Bravo to Mike Myers, the rest of the cast, the writers and producers.This movie way up on my list.

carlos canales 2012-05-07 19:03:01

Funny and entertaining

You can't pretend that you people are the ultimate authority in what isfunny and what's not.For me, this movie was a fun ride.The cruel humorthat so many of you remark, for me is just funny black humor.I mean,this is not the movie Happiness, so don't over react.The acting of MikeMyers is hilarious and i don't think the movie would be the samewithout him.Besides, sometimes the jokes seems almost improvisationalin nature, giving them a great spontaneous feel to them. The acting isgreat overall but Dakota is just perfect in her role too.The directingis fast paced and with original, funny and clever cuts.For example,when The Cat is hit in his private parts and then comes a cut into hisfeelings of pain.GREAT comedy indeed. To summarize: i think that youpeople forgot what is to be a young kid watching this.I remember quiteclearly that i loved sick and twisted humor, and that is not an adultacquired thing.I have not read Dr. Zeuss' novel and i don't have aninterest in doing so.And i really think that today's kids dig more thiskind of stuff than a sugary sweet moral tale. I recommend this moviethat is not perfect, but is nowhere as bad as i read you saying so.