The Cat In The Hat (2003) Film Review: A Guilty Pleasure That The World Despises.

Everyone who loves film has a guilty pleasure that they always go back to. A film that they acknowledge is not good, but still find enjoyable either due to nostalgia or the entertainment value overall. My guilty pleasure happens to be considered one of the worst films ever made, to which I think otherwise. Based on the classic Dr. Seuss book, the film follows a brother and sister as a boring afternoon turns into an adventure filled with random chaos as the Cat in the Hat pays a visit in order to teach them how to have fun while improving their character in the process. I think we all know the reasons why this film is despised by the story alone. Not only is making a film based off Dr. Seuss material is completely unnecessary, but the story had to be expanded so much to the point that it can be considered a terrible adaptation of the source material due to the tone, humour and predictable story beats. In my eyes, I just choose to ignore that it's based off the book and just accept it like some bizarre family film unlike any other. I will admit, it's a horrible adaptation, but because it is so far removed from the book, I might as well view it as its own separate entity The tone does fit for the most part with Dr. Seuss as it's unapologetically non-sensical and does carry a fun energy for kids. The expansion of the story makes sense if you call it an extension of the tone as the story goes from one direction to the other with the inclusion of a villain and the Cat's dimension. The humour is another target for the film as it includes both toilet humour and sexual innuendos, which is clearly something Dr. Seuss books are known for. Although I, as a kid, never got the adult jokes, they are pretty obvious and a bit uncomfortable as I'm older, but I can still laugh at them due to their inclusion alone. The humour is once again reliant on the absurdity as a whole, which can clearly make or break the movie for you.

Mike Myers, love him or hate him, is enjoying his time as the Cat with his charisma and energy. It's not like the book, but at this point, you should expect that. At times, he can be annoying, but at other times, Myers's physical acting and jokes do get to you in a charming kind of way. That laugh gets me every damn time. Spencer Breslin and Dakota Fanning as Conrad and Sally is the typical Bart/Lisa sibling dynamic, where the brother is a troublemaker that wrecks the house and the sister is a smart, behaved child who doesn't know how to enjoy herself. The child actors are good when there are having fun in the wacky situations, but when they have to deliver dialogue in slower scenes, they act and sound so stiff and monotone that it causes them to be the worst actors in the film. Kelly Preston as Joan, the mother, is actually pretty good and is basically the most grounded character in the film as the stressed-out mother. The Fish, voiced by Sean Hayes, is a cynical, worry-wart who acts overdramatic, but ain't funny whatsoever. Alec Baldwin as Larry, the boyfriend of Joan who is manipulative and lazy, is in the same field as Myers when it comes to his performance. It's hard to hate on Baldwin in any film as he's just too loveable to hate and his character honestly fits the actor perfectly. Lastly, there's Thing 1 and 2, who sort of remind me of prototype Minions for their gibberish and annoying nature. However, I can actually stomach the Things as they aren't in the film much and they did have one really good joke when they disguise themselves as police officers. The cast is a mixed bag. On the one hand, you can hate the characters for being cliched, over-the-top, or just poorly performed. On the other hand though, you can enjoy the charismatic performances of Myers and Baldwin as the actors generally appear to have a good time on camera and are just too fun to hate on.

Bo Welch is a production designer who has only directed one feature film in his career, which is this. His directing is okay at best, but is pretty flat with some of the scenes, which are the ones where not much is happening onscreen. Despite his average directing, it's his production design that really shines through. The sets and town of Anville is visualized as a colourful 50's throwback, though with some modern-looking clothes and slang. It's actually the closest the film gets to replicate the feel of the book visually with the cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki offering some nice shots to show the scope of the creative sets and world. The designs of the Cat and the Things aren't as visually appealing though. The Things look like repainted Whos from "The Grinch", while the Cat looks like it came out of the film, "Cats" (albeit wearing a more convincing costume than CGI fur tech). You can tell that they wanted to replicate the award-winning makeup Jim Carrey wore, but the problem is clearly that they were being much more lazy in that department for this production. I'm surprised by the amount of practical effects used not just for the characters, but props such as the Cat's car and the water ride inside the house are built from the ground up and clearly had some effort put into it. The CGI is standard, as it's not trying to be convincing at all but rather colourful and surreal, particularly in the Mother of All Messes. The music by David Newman is also decent as the bubbly, cartoony score matches the tone of the film, albeit sounds like background music for "Loony Tunes". The original songs are enjoyable, but in two different extremes. The Cat's musical number is actually decently written and directed, while "It's Getting Better", a cover by Smash Mouth, is so early 2000's and cheesy that it's a song that perfectly fits a guilty pleasure like this film.

"The Cat in the Hat" is by no means a good movie. It's a terrible adaptation of a beloved classic, humour and innuendos that are laughably misguided or executed, the kids aren't great actors and are very cliche, the fish is just so pointlessly unfunny, the costumes of the Cat and the Things are unintentional nightmare fuel, and Welch's directing isn't exactly great. However, there's a lot of entertainment value that can be viewed by certain people like myself. The tone is rightfully bonkers, the performances of Myers and Baldwin are just so hammy that it cracks you up out of enjoyment, the production design is well-realized in its surreal look, the cinematography by Lubezki is pretty good, the use of practical effects is commendable, and the music by Newman as well as the original songs are enjoyable in their own way. Even if I remove the adaptation thing aside, I can't say it's really good as there are some big issues regardless of the Dr. Seuss connection. However, I can never bring myself to hate it. It's a strange film as I can both appreciate the positives and effort, but just laugh at the execution and enjoy it as a so bad, it's good level or even a feel-good film if I need something to cheer me up. You might say that nostalgia blinds me or that I'm a crap critic, but there's nothing wrong with having a guilty pleasure, even if I'm alone in my enjoyment.

Verdict: 5/10. It's right down the middle for me, as I believe that people can hate it or enjoy it for what it is. Watch it and join the latter group like myself or call me a fool, I don't care.