14 Comments
User's avatar
B-Movie Tea's avatar

Thanks for writing about this tragedy. It's full of so many ideas that probably seemed good at the time, a chorus of Cockroaches dancing like Rockettes, Cats eating Cockroaches the way people eat turkey dinner, a wizard cat with low self esteem. I don't think any of it was the result of laziness, cynicism or malice. They could've just filmed a Broadway production with really good cameras and called it a day.

Instead, they tried something different.

They tried and died.

Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

You're very welcome!

Expand full comment
Kyle (Horrorble Writer)'s avatar

Man any still shot pic of these scenes are just like the cinematic equivalent of staring at a Cosby sweater. The James Corden one is just #1

Horror movie of the year. I want to see it because I too love a masterpiece in the moment, train wreck down the road movie but I just hate the uncanny valley cats with…oof…human hands.

Visually Kubrick or Malick this ain’t.

Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

I had so many screenshots to choose from, and each one was absolutely terrible. What a wealth of options.

Expand full comment
Kyle (Horrorble Writer)'s avatar

No doubt lol…and then they unzip their fur?????

Please add trigger warnings to any future Cats essays.

Expand full comment
Dave Baxter's avatar

I'm reading Rick James' autobiography right now, and that cat (ha) did a *lot* of prison time! Can you imagine getting someone like him in a prison talent show? That would've been wild.

Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

It’s amazing that you had some people in these shows that could competently play an instrument, but you had NOBODY that had any real musical talent in any way. You’d think you’d get at least one good singer.

Expand full comment
Charlotte Simmons's avatar

This was supposed to be Jason Derulo's big break, too 😞

What amazes me about Cats is that, to my knowledge, there's a scene in the musical where the cats explain the nuances of this fictional world, and there's no equivalent of that in the film. That was choice number one.

I do, however, maintain that Beautiful Ghosts is a great number.

Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

Yeah, I would have liked it to get weirder and more surreal, but the main emphasis seems to be "fun + fun + fun + a little sadness". It's just too damn disposable.

Expand full comment
Edward Douglas's avatar

I can't believe that my 15 minutes of fame might forever be coming up with "Cats is the worst thing to happen to cats since dogs" :(

Expand full comment
Kyle (Horrorble Writer)'s avatar

How’d it go? Was your stand up set more environmentally specific or broader universal stuff?

Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

The first time I did standup in prison, it was pretty solid. I had a few good routines. We were performing in the chapel, so my last bit involved myself and a prostitute. There was a murmur in the audience, and I paused to allow it, and I turned to all these gross criminals and said, "Don't judge ME!" That was a solid improv in the middle of the bit, I was proud of the whole thing.

The second time I did stand-up in prison, that one is a story, I'll maybe tell that story in one of my pieces.

Expand full comment
Kyle (Horrorble Writer)'s avatar

Lol…hopefully they weren’t too tough of a crowd. Stand up in general seems terrifying.

Expand full comment
User's avatar
Comment deleted
Feb 2
Comment deleted
Expand full comment
Decarceration's avatar

Probably true.

Expand full comment