A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life.
For as long as “Cats” has been a Broadway and then Off-Broadway production, I should have long seen the theatrical piece a million times over, however, not being a cat person, I never found a real reason to pursue it as valid entertainment. Silly me. Fast forward several remakes and finally the big-screen debut, and I convinced myself that I didn’t have to be a cat person to appreciate it, I could just be an ever-evolving lover of diversity in art. Good for me! To be honest, the slinking around was what bothered me the most about the unpredictable animals and now it appears that the technically-modified slinking matched with the character flaws within the Jellicle community is what makes this adaptation most appealing.
In the opening scenes, the time has come for the Jellicle cats to see who among their inner circle will transform to the other side. In their own snarky ways, they try to downplay the role of the enviable position and there is infighting amongst them as they seek the coveted role. They do seem to be in agreement though that Grizabella (Jennifer Hudson) has a rat’s chance in hell to break through her dramatic outcasting and once again be accepted to the group before she can even think about rising above them. While she tries to hide her pain and sadness, Victoria (Francesca Hayward), who appears to be the most welcoming and unbiased feline, takes a personal interest in Grizabella and wants to give her an opportunity to hang with the Jellicles so they can understand where her heart and loyalty lies. At the other end of the spectrum, Macavity (Idris Elba), who appears to represent all things evil, constantly eliminates many of the competition with his magical ability to make his enemies disappear and remind everyone of his unequivocal powers to kill and destroy.
The plot thickens as tension rises amongst the cats and their innate power to change their own destiny which is radically governed by Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench). Just as with humanity, there are inner circles and cliques that make the Jellicles insanely powerful and tremendously weak, while the cattiness reaches its peak and causes the entire group to have to realign their priorities in order to save their own self-righteous souls. In the end, Grizabela is brought back into the fold and becomes lifted up into the Jellicle thrones of virtue and Macavity gets what he rightly deserves.
It is obvious that director Tom Hooper used his experience with “Les Misérables” and personal fortitude to reign in a cast of uniquely talented actors and actresses such as Judi Dench (Old Deuteronomy), Taylor Swift (Bombalurina), Jennifer Hudson (Grizabella), James Corden (Bustopher Jones), Idris Elba (Macavity), Francesca Hayward (Victoria), Rebel Wilson (Jennyanydots), Jason Derulo (Rum Tum Tugger) and several more characters to make an all-encompassing troop of stereotypical felines to recapture T. S. Eliot’s “Old Possum’s Books of Practical Cats.” While Jennifer Hudson’s outstanding vocals and James Corden and Rebel Wilson’s humor make this film joyfully entertaining, it is Judi Dench who captures the heartstrings with her momma bear approach to making the felines realize what is most important in life, and Ian’s Mckellen’s inimitable sadness as Gus the Theatre Cat, that brings it all home and makes it heart-warming human-friendly!
In Theaters Friday, December 20th
