Nine Lives

I've read some awful reviews about this movie and my expectations were set low. I was expecting to be dragged by my kids to a mix of "Baby Geniuses 2" and "Battlefield Earth". But I was pleasantly surprised. This movie won't win any Oscars, but its a reasonable kids movie. Kids liked it, and I was OK with it. Yes, the plot is predictable, and the jokes are pretty flat, but they are geared toward 10 year olds and adults who really like cats, and that is what is expected from a kids movie about a cat. If you hate cats, well, don't see it, see "Shaggy Dog" instead, its virtually the same plot, except its a different type of a pet. I think this movie is OK and I look forward to seeing new incarnations of the same plot in the future movies, such as "Being Goldie" (hint, hint movie studio, in about 10 years we will be ready for another one of those plots)

OK, I agree that this is no Citizen Kane, but I was amazed at the critical reviews and low IMDb score.

I think perhaps to appreciate this you need to be particularly fond of cats and/or been a cat owner. But if you are then this film is a perfectly serviceable slice of family entertainment, and frankly there are much, much worse films out there. Kevin Spacey and Chris Walken are dependable as always and I think there is plenty about this that kids will enjoy. Worth a look as a Sunday afternoon family film in my opinion, or perhaps as something you can put on to keep the kids amused.

Inoffensive little title. I hadn't seen anything by Kevin Spacey since his ouster from Hollywood, and watched this on DVD in Feb 2023. Was nice to see him, he automatically brings some gravitas to the screen. Watched it with my neighbours, the teenage boy "spoiled" it in the first couple of minutes by telling me that Spacey becomes a cat but I pretty much guessed that had to be the thrust of the film just by looking at the title. Like other reviewers note, this ain't Shakespeare and there are definitely no real surprises, but it was a comforting and family friendly thing we could comfortably watch together. I thought it would be too much for me - we lost their 20-year old ragdoll just a day ago to kidney disease - but this was actually a nice diversion and got our minds off our grief. For 80 minutes their house that had suddenly become quiet and empty was once again brought to life. Watch this with the kids.

... but this is one of those body/soul switch films with a twist versus the average script about this thing. No old man getting to feel young again. No teenager in mom's body suddenly having to watch her carb intake or find out she's gained five pounds overnight.

Instead, this is a silly, predictable, yet very entertaining, piece of fluff about a wealthy builder (Kevin Spacey) who manages to get trapped inside a cat's body. The cat, named Mr. Fuzzypants, spends most of the film trying to get people to realize he is really Spacey, while Spacey lies in a coma. Along the way, there is some business intrigue, as Spacey's underlings attempt to take over his company. Will Mr. Fuzzypants save the day? Jennifer Garner plays Spacey's current wife, and she looks great. Spacey's first wife, played by Cheryl Hines, wears some of the tightest clothes in history and adds just the right amount of bi... - ahem - "crankiness" to her role. There are some laugh-out-loud scenes, such as when Mr. Fuzzypants tries to sneak past security guards who happen to be watching cat videos.

Christopher Walken, as the very weird pet shop owner, is perfectly cast. I admire anyone who can deliver his lines with a straight face, all the while wearing a three-piece green suit and bow-tie.

Recommended for the silliness and fun of it all.

I watched it in the company of friends and sometimes just exploded with laughter. A slightly delayed beginning is replaced by a fireworks display of cat passions. A movie to watch in a big company! I wonder if there are many people like me who have asked the question of the possibility of transmigrating the human soul into the body of a cat?:)