MOVIE REVIEWS

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Digital streaming is gaining a stronger foothold daily on home entertainment and portable devices. In turn, DVDs, Blu-ray and 4K discs are struggling to hold on.

Whatever the choice, people are still craving access to movies new and old. The choice these days is wide, and in this space each issue, available films will be spotlighted and suggestions will be made to guide viewers in directions that, hopefully, will be pleasing to all. ***

So, how can a musical stay 18 years on Broadway without a visual arts critic of any stripe not knowing at least the basic details of the show when it is finally transferred from stage to screen?

A mouthful, true, but it pretty well illustrates how "Cats" was shot down during it's opening week in movie theaters last December and became a punchline at award programs for 2019 films. The movie, not perfect, is actually pretty entertaining if one takes the time to learn the slim story line before diving in. "Cats" is based on a book of poems written in the 1930s by T.S. Eliot. His words combined with some wonderful music by Andrew Lloyd Webber can leave viewers enchanted.

It was Eliot who, in his collection “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” called the subjects Jellicle cats and set them up to attend the annual Jellicle Ball. In an unpublished poem reportedly lifted by the musical's authors, there was a verse about a competition for one of the Jellicles to be taken to the Heaviside Layer, a cat's version of heaven.

Admittedly it's a shallow premise, but the poems-turned-songs act as auditions for these night roamers and skaliwags to gain a chance at the Heaviside trip. The beautifully choreographed numbers were enough to keep Broadway audiences showing up in record crowds for almost two decades; not so the shallow-minded film critics.

Some just didn't get it. Others called it creepy.

The unfair criticism turned a $95 million songfest into kitty litter, and that's too bad. The box office bomb recently became available for streaming and purchase on home video, through Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, so there is the opportunity for a comeback.

Some complaints are understandable. One would be the reworking of an enjoyable song,"Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer." Such mishaps are common in stage-to-screen adaptations. Original songs are often omitted or changed, and many times there is a new tune or two added (it happens here also), probably to influence Motion Picture Academy voters to consider it for an Oscar nomination. "Cats" didn't stand a chance for that kind of consideration, even with popular singer Taylor Swift making her movie debut and getting partial songwriting credit for the new tune. Other familiar faces -- Jennifer Hudson, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, James Corden -- join her on the screen.

Unlike the stage version, there is spoken material on the screen, but it is minimal and apparently aimed toward those unfamiliar with the original. It didn't sway the doubters. It doesn't distract the fans.

A number of critics blamed the source material. Many more chimed in with tales of nightmares because of the CGI-assisted makeup which, actually, for the true "Cats" lovers, looks great. These days opening weekend attendance tends to dictate the fate of big studio productions. Bad reviews can sink a picture.

Still, it's hard to understand. After a New York run from May 1981 to September 2000, "Cats" became the longest running show in Broadway history. It remains fourth in that line these 20 years later. But last December, the early negative reviews of the movie were mimicked by social media know-it-alls, and the picture's fate was determined within days.

Those who have never seen a production of "Cats" might be wise to stream it through their favorite service. Those familiar with and who favor the original should not be afraid to dive in, ignoring unwarranted blather.

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NOTES: Viewers wishing to go straight to the original may easily do so with the 2000-released, filmed stage version featuring London cast member Elaine Page as Grizzabella and veteran actor John Mills as Gus, the Theatre Cat. It's available, too, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and may be purchased through Amazon, among other sources.

Long-time stage fans may notice that neither video version includes the huge production number "Growltiger's Last Stand." It was omitted from both and reportedly is no longer included in stage versions being produced today.

DON ELDREDGE is the retired editor of the Herald Democrat newspaper (ShermanDenison, TX) and resides in Sherman. E-mail him at eldredgedon@gmail.com.