Murder of a Cat (2014)

At the start of the movie, a man gets in a car and speeds away. Eventually he runs into a man standing in the street.Clinton lives with his mother Edie, in the basement. He looks like Bronson Pinchot went to Howard Wolowitz's barber, though later he looks more grown-up, resembling Andy Samberg. He blames Ford's Megastore for the failure of his comic book store, and now he sells comic books and toys he made at a yard sale. A little boy isn't interested but wonders if the cat is for sale.No, Mouser is Clinton's best friend. But he is depressed and behaving strangely. The vet says that's normal behavior for a 17-year-old cat.One day Clinton finds Mouser in the street dead, with what appears to be an arrow sticking out of him. Technically, it's not an arrow, and it is sold only at Ford's. Clinton calls the cops, and Sheriff Hoyle doesn't take the case very seriously. He is attracted to Edie, though. And the press is quite interested in this "oddball". Clinton becomes a front-page story.Sheriff Hoyle tells Clinton to let the real cops investigate. And when did anyone listen in any movie or TV series when told this? Clinton sees a flyer for a lost cat. It's Mouser! When he goes to the address on the flyer, it's an assisted living facility. He finds the specific room, which has numerous photos of Mouser. But it turns out the resident who owns the cat is a beautiful young woman named Greta, with tattoos and dark hair with fire engine red streaks.Clinton accuses Greta of murder Greta explains that the cat is hers and named Horatio, but he runs away a lot. Greta used to work at Ford's until she found out about some apparently illegal activities. Now she styles the old people's hair and gets a great deal on rent.Clinton shows Greta proof that his cat was hers. Then he and Greta continue their investigation. With hilarious results. The investigation puts Clinton in danger, mainly because of the quirky Yi Kim. Who isn't quite what he seems.This is a goofy mystery/adventure, but it isn't just funny. The drama adds something to it. We learn a lot about various characters, and the movie ends up having more substance than one would expect.Fran Kranz, who is a man, makes an appealing loser. J.K. Simmons delivers his usual great performance. His best line is in a scene where he denies working with Clinton.Nikki Reed is also very good. The best example is her grief over the loss of her cat, which is quite genuine and not funny at all.Leonardo Nam shows a lot more range to his character than just the stoned wacko we meet at the store. Is he crafty like Eddie Haskell, or is the guy at the store not the real Yi?Greg Kinnear is very good as the celebrity store manager known for his outrageous commercials. But he is so much more than that.Even Blythe Danner seems at home here. She has a reputation, but then so does J.K. Simmons, and both of them add so much to what could have been merely silly.And the music is great. Most of it is some type of jazz, with the "film noir" style with muted trumpet the most common.It's really worth seeing.

Good writing. You can feel it from the beginning that you're in for a treat. Yes, they do catch the culprit. But it's not typical lighthearted good-guy / bad-guy fare. The characters are complex. They resolve problems and escape the prisons they've built for themselves as a result of Clinton's (played perfectly by Fran Kranz) dogged insistence on finding the killer of his cat.The subtext of the story is what stays with you and makes you think about life. Clinton is portrayed as an insecure momma's boy, unable to support himself, spending his days creating little figurines and trying to sell them from his mother's front lawn. Your first impression is that he's a pathetic, harmless loser doomed to a life of obscure mediocrity. There is nothing to indicate otherwise, until someone shoots his aging cat with a crossbow, leaving the poor animal to drag itself to Clinton's house and finally die there. Clinton's sadness is off the charts. His only friend in the world is mercilessly shot down and left to die alone. Instead of simply moving on with life, Clinton transforms into a relentless crusader, pestering and bullying anyone who won't help him locate the killer of his cat.Clinton's probing reveals sordid secrets of almost everyone he investigates. Every attempt to stop him fails. His sometime ally is Greta (played by Nikki Reed) who "co-owned" the cat. Even she drops out of the investigation when her secrets are revealed. But nothing will stop Clinton. As he knocks down and reveals each character's personal tragedy, he does what you don't expect: he shows true compassion for them. Clinton the oddball is the only character true to himself and his convictions. His human authenticity is a trans-formative power that forces his antagonists to let down their facades and become human again.You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll feel something profound. See this movie.

I loved this movie. It is quirky and playful, without being heavy handed. The direction is excellent. The actors all feel very natural as if we, as the audience, are witnessing a little slice of their lives. It tackles big topics of corporate greed, economic issues, aimlessness, disenfranchised youth, love, romance and loyalty. It characterizes alienation in a parent/child relationship in a profound way that is very touching. All of this wrapped in a fun and crazy adventure that starts with a CAT. It is a wild and entertaining ride that left me wanting to stay on board as long as I could. I did not want this film to end. I highly recommend it.

Check any screen writing manual for definitions of plot point, twist, rising action. Then the RomCom playbook: meet girl, lose girl by self, regain girl, lose girl to externals, win girl.Paint-by-numbers.The script for "Murder of a Cat" is a textbook example. Each move is telegraphed. Each line moves toward the big twist right on time at minute 77. It may not be enough to discount this, or any film, but sadly there's nothing else to recommend it.The chemistry between Nikki Reed and Fran Kranz is nonexistent. The former sleepwalks through a thankless, underwritten part while the latter, a sexless man-child living with Mom, was surely directed to angrily shout every line. Even the venerable J.K. Simmons phones it in, as does Greg Kinnear. Only Blythe Danner turns in a nuanced performance.Further, Fran Kranz isn't a character, he's an annoying, trite and insulting caricature that's an affront to sensibility.That leaves only plot: a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew quest for the killer of Franz' cat. The yawn-inducing trail leading to the killer is paved with inane set pieces rolled in obvious that the filmmakers incorrectly believed was quirk.There's a slapdash, let's-get-this-over feel to the proceedings which may derive from a tight shooting schedule. That might be forgiven, but when the cast isn't invested that feeling wafts over the footlights to hapless audiences. That conceit is the worst aspect in this useless film."Murder of a Cat" is an unfunny, undramatic, unwatchable insult not worthy of anyone's time. Maybe your cat will like it. (Maybe they'll wish for the same fate as the cinematic feline.)