P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
Outfest
There just might be a very good reason that "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead", both a novel and a short-lived Broadway play by James Kirkwood Jr. (co-author of "A Chorus Line"), had never been turned into a movie.
It likely has a lot to do with the fact that both versions -- which tell the story of a struggling actor-writer who has captured the young gay burglar responsible for repeatedly cleaning out his apartment -- have that early '70s feel of something that was once groundbreaking in a distinctly theatrical way but would now feel as quaintly dated as a "Boys in the Band" revival.
For some reason, that hasn't deterred Steve Guttenberg from taking a crack at the material in the triple guise of director, star and co-writer (with Jeff Korn). While his tenacity is undeniable, he would have been wiser to let sleeping cats lie.
In the Guttenberg version, his Jimmy Zoole character is having a very bad New Year's Eve. His latest one-man show has closed after a single performance; his girlfriend, Kate (Cynthia Watros), has dumped him; and his Hollywood loft is about to be robbed yet again.
But things take a fateful turn when Jimmy captures the culprit (Lombardo Boyar) and hogties him to the kitchen sink while figuring out an appropriate punishment.
Guttenberg's approach is essentially to choreograph everything like it was a kinkier version of "Love, American Style", then abruptly change gears for those more purposeful, soul-bearing passages.
While it still ends up inextricably stuck to the stage, the film does manage to serve as an effective showcase for Boyar, who as the charismatic, thieving Eddie Who's now Hispanic rather than Italian) delivers a remarkably compelling performance, which is no mean feat when you're face-down, bare-assed and bound for the majority of the picture.
There just might be a very good reason that "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead", both a novel and a short-lived Broadway play by James Kirkwood Jr. (co-author of "A Chorus Line"), had never been turned into a movie.
It likely has a lot to do with the fact that both versions -- which tell the story of a struggling actor-writer who has captured the young gay burglar responsible for repeatedly cleaning out his apartment -- have that early '70s feel of something that was once groundbreaking in a distinctly theatrical way but would now feel as quaintly dated as a "Boys in the Band" revival.
For some reason, that hasn't deterred Steve Guttenberg from taking a crack at the material in the triple guise of director, star and co-writer (with Jeff Korn). While his tenacity is undeniable, he would have been wiser to let sleeping cats lie.
In the Guttenberg version, his Jimmy Zoole character is having a very bad New Year's Eve. His latest one-man show has closed after a single performance; his girlfriend, Kate (Cynthia Watros), has dumped him; and his Hollywood loft is about to be robbed yet again.
But things take a fateful turn when Jimmy captures the culprit (Lombardo Boyar) and hogties him to the kitchen sink while figuring out an appropriate punishment.
Guttenberg's approach is essentially to choreograph everything like it was a kinkier version of "Love, American Style", then abruptly change gears for those more purposeful, soul-bearing passages.
While it still ends up inextricably stuck to the stage, the film does manage to serve as an effective showcase for Boyar, who as the charismatic, thieving Eddie Who's now Hispanic rather than Italian) delivers a remarkably compelling performance, which is no mean feat when you're face-down, bare-assed and bound for the majority of the picture.
- 7/23/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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