Movie Review: “She’s Allergic To Cats” Is The Bad Trip You’ve Been Waiting For

Michael Pinkney (Pinkney) is a dog groomer living in a rat-infested Hollywood dive with dreams of a bigger creative life. His current ambition is to raise funding for an all-cat remake of “Carrie.” At home, he makes what he refers to as “weird video art that nobody wants to watch.” One day on the job, he meets Cora (Kinski) the girl of his dreams. Easily distracted, creatively in knots and now in some sort of love, Michael’s about to embark on a whole new dangerous trip.

Not everyone will appreciate Michael Reich’s autobiographical feature film, “She’s Allergic to Cats.” In fact, I am willing to bet most people would not stand to make it through all 74 minutes. At its worst, “She’s Allergic to Cats” is a grotesque display of the squalid Hollywood human condition and gag-worthy close-ups of literal rot, genitals, and “expressions” of a particular sort. It’s a hard watch. That said, the film is not without merit. A beautiful account of the mundane and absurd, this Sisyphean masterpiece deserves to be the meat of a mediocre undergraduate student’s philosophical essay.

Michael Pinkney is Michael, a dog groomer living in Hollywood. His aspirations though are more far-reaching than dog groomer. He wants to make films. Create art. His current pitch is the film “Carrie” but with cats. As he struggles to try and convince people that his cat “Carrie” film idea is a good one, he also must face the fact that he will likely never be a dog groomer to the stars. The ridiculousness of his life is painfully hilarious. He lives in a rat-infested shack and is haunted by a rotting bowl of bananas the aforementioned rats feasted upon. Michael’s life sucks in the twilight zone of Hollywood. But things start to look up when the girl of his dreams, Cora (Sonja Kinski), takes an interest in him and he must prepare for their impending date. He’s got to do something about those rats. And he finds his solution in a cat.

The date goes swimmingly. There’s an adventure with a pug named Karma and then plans are made to bask in the glory that is the film “Congo.” But not heeding the warning tucked inside his dream girl’s statement, “I hate cats,” Michael’s date goes from great to anaphylactic shock, aptly summing up the absurdity of Michael’s life.

“She’s Allergic to Cats” hits like a fever dream. It has a special quality to it. It’s the kind of film that would (if we were in another decade) be on some untitled VHS tape and passed around at school. Something oddball and gross to be whispered about in the hallways. There’s also a Warhol-esque quality to it. If you’ve ever seen a Warhol film, you’ll know what I mean. It’s bad. It’s trash. I love bad trash. And if you love bad trash, then give “She’s Allergic to Cats” a view or two. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, try it out anyway and see how long you last.

Now available on Digital HD