Download Free That Darn Cat

I have an extremely open mind when it comes to Hollywood remaking,
revisiting, creating a sequel to, or otherwise building upon an
established
film. Consider that mind slammed firmly shut!

The original "Darn Cat" featured a precocious feline surrounded by a
village
of humans (some funny, some scary, some just plain annoying). But the
cat
always remained at the center of the story, and the cat's actions are
what
propelled the whole thing forward. But here, the focus is on Patty
Randall
(Christina Ricci) and her FBI-rookie pal, Zeke Kelso (Doug E.
Doug).

Apparently, the producers knew that they had an up-and-coming young
starlet
in their midst when they created this litter-box, because the focus is
moved
away from D.C. and onto Ricci's bratty and generally unlikeable Patty
Randall. While no producer can be blamed for seeing talent and grabbing
it
(Two "Addams Family" films and "Casper the Friendly Ghost" had already
gotten Ricci significant exposure!), they forgot that the film's title is
"That Darn Cat"... not "That Darn Pat".

And it shows. We still have a minor league all-star cast, and we still
have
the FBI agent, the young girl and her cat as the heroes of the piece, but
we
cannot even see the villains (who provided so much of the menace in the
original) and we see entirely too much of the assortment of freaks, geeks
and throwaway nutcases that populate this burg.

I submit a challenge: Watch this one, then go back and watch the
original.
Then TRY to remember something significant that the cat in the new
version
did.

See, you're learning!.

`It's as if this town has the power to suck your brain right out of your
head.'
-Patti

Patti (Christina Ricci) is a sarcastic teenaged girl, bored with her
all-too-average little town. Bored that is until a woman is kidnapped and
she finds what she believes to be clues to the poor lady's whereabouts.
Now, with the help of her precious cat `D.C.' and an inept FBI agent (Doug
E. Doug) she must find her.

That Darn Cat is a bad movie. It is quite foolish and it has humor that
often falls quite flat. There are, however, a few buds of talent in
it.
Doug E. Doug was good in Cool Runnings. His performance as `Senga' was
really funny. Here he is wasted as the bumbling FBI agent. He does have a
good scene when he imitates the cat, though.
Micheal Mckean plays Patti's father. His character must be the most
understanding parent to ever live. This poor guy has his expensive cigar
crushed, gets arrested for picking up his own cat, and gets bitched-at by
his snippy wife and STILL doesn't get angry at his daughter for causing all
of his troubles. I wish my old man was like that.
The only real good performance is Christina Ricci's. She entertaining as
the ever-annoyed Patti, but her occasional very bad dialogue pulls her
performance down.
You might also recognize Peter Boyle (Young Frankenstein, Everybody Loves
Raymond), the old lady from Wings and Cliff from Cheers, in this movie.
This is a movie that all these actors would probably like to forget. Even
the cat isn't very good...
I really can't recommend 1997's That Darn Cat. Some young children (under
8)
might enjoy it a bit, but every one else should look elsewhere.
If you're looking for a good Christina Ricci movie, I suggest Addams Family
Values, The Opposite of Sex or Sleepy Hollow. If a fun family film is what
you're after, try Snow Day, instead.

.