Can you get fed up of hearing a cat mew and purr? As a dyed-in-the- wool feline lover, my answer just yesterday would have a resounding 'no', but after suffering through the underwhelming, cliché-ridden waste of 100 minutes that is 'A Streetcat Named Bob' my answer is in the positive without even hesitating.
Every scene it's in, we have the titular Tom making the aforementioned dubbed-in noises constantly, until it becomes so distracting my enjoyment of the film suffered as a result. As a direct comparison, when was the last time you saw a dog movie that had non-stop (and I DO mean non-stop) barking and growling from beginning to end? Exactly. The surfeit of cat sounds here is incomprehensible, intrusive and completely unnecessary.
Despite all that though, the puss is still the best thing in the movie. Who can possibly enjoy these one-dimensional characters, including the nicest homeless drug addict you're ever likely to not meet in the lead, his obnoxious vegan stereotype girlfriend and his estranged father who, in true movie tradition, he has a tearful 'reunion' with at the end? The script lacks the emotional weight and resonance to carry such a moment, and most right-minded people's tissue collection will remain completely dry.
Finally, we're told this is 'Based On A True Story' the BASED bit being the actual caveat. For example, did our hero REALLY earn next- to-nothing for his many busking sessions, but as soon as he attaches a cat to a lead, starts making the big bucks? Are people really that shallow? Especially as what he's playing amounts to little more than pretentious navel-gazing piffle.
Add to that an incredibly predictable script where every little 'bump in the road' is telegraphed way in advance before being solved in minutes, and you have an entirely forgettable cinematic experience hastily assembled to cash in on a successful book. Shame the profit margin didn't match their artistic endeavours, though. Not by a long chalk. 4/10
Every scene it's in, we have the titular Tom making the aforementioned dubbed-in noises constantly, until it becomes so distracting my enjoyment of the film suffered as a result. As a direct comparison, when was the last time you saw a dog movie that had non-stop (and I DO mean non-stop) barking and growling from beginning to end? Exactly. The surfeit of cat sounds here is incomprehensible, intrusive and completely unnecessary.
Despite all that though, the puss is still the best thing in the movie. Who can possibly enjoy these one-dimensional characters, including the nicest homeless drug addict you're ever likely to not meet in the lead, his obnoxious vegan stereotype girlfriend and his estranged father who, in true movie tradition, he has a tearful 'reunion' with at the end? The script lacks the emotional weight and resonance to carry such a moment, and most right-minded people's tissue collection will remain completely dry.
Finally, we're told this is 'Based On A True Story' the BASED bit being the actual caveat. For example, did our hero REALLY earn next- to-nothing for his many busking sessions, but as soon as he attaches a cat to a lead, starts making the big bucks? Are people really that shallow? Especially as what he's playing amounts to little more than pretentious navel-gazing piffle.
Add to that an incredibly predictable script where every little 'bump in the road' is telegraphed way in advance before being solved in minutes, and you have an entirely forgettable cinematic experience hastily assembled to cash in on a successful book. Shame the profit margin didn't match their artistic endeavours, though. Not by a long chalk. 4/10