As soon as I saw that Rebel Wilson and James Corden were cast as Jennyanydots and Bustopher Jones, respectively, in Cats 2019, I groaned. Not because I don’t like them as actors, but because they’re both comedic actors; at that moment, I knew that Jenny and Bustopher would be reduced to a pair of walking fat jokes.
And I was right.
If you’re not familiar with Cats, it’s based on a series of narratively unconnected poems by T.S. Eliot, and it’s basically a series of vignettes about different cats — called Jellicle cats — who live in or around a London alleyway. Some of the cats are asking their leader, Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench), to be chosen as this year’s Jellicle choice — that is, the cat who will die and be reincarnated.
Full disclosure: I’m a big fan of Cats, especially the professionally filmed version of the 1998 production, and that’s what I’ll be comparing Cats 2019 to. However, there are lots of productions of Cats on YouTube, and no one version is definitive.
In the 2019 movie, Jennyanydots and Bustopher Jones are both candidates for the Jellicle choice, and they each are the lead vocalist for their respective songs, which are basically their applications to cat Valhalla. In most productions of the stage show, Jennyanydots’ song is sung by Munkustrap, the narrator, and a chorus of other cats. She is framed as a genuine pillar of community service because she teaches music to delinquent mice and runs a boy scout troop for cockroaches. (I know, but bear with me.) Jennyanydots is fat in the stage show, and still highly respected. In the movie, Rebel Wilson sings Jenny’s song mostly by herself, out-of-breath, off-key, and clumsy from the first word. Jenny is portrayed more as a pathetic pageant mom as she totes her briefcase of tap dancing cockroaches around, looking for their big break.
Bustopher Jones is usually not considered for the Jellicle choice; rather, he simply shows up for the Jellicle Ball and the cats sing his song as a greeting. The chorus of Bustopher’s song in the stage show goes, “And we’re all of us proud to be nodded or bowed to / By Bustopher Jones in white spats.” Bustopher is highly esteemed, in part because of his size. Among stray cats, who do not care about human beauty standards, being fat is an accomplishment. However, in the movie, Bustopher sings his own song, so his standing in the community isn’t affirmed by anyone else, and though Corden’s performance is fun, there are a lot of “jokes” that are just him eating and being hungry. Because he’s fat. And that’s funny.
TurningCats’ two fat characters into jokes when they’re originally well-respected members of the Jellicle community is more than just problematic from a body-positive perspective: it undermines Cats’ central themes of community, love, and respect. These are themes that Tim Hooper fails to communicate throughout the film due to his focus on the A-list celebrities in the cast.
On stage, every background actor is constantly engaged in the scene because the audience can see them at all times, so when Bustopher Jones appears, the audience can see all the cats bow, salute, or rush to clear a seat for him. Hooper’s claustrophobic framing shows only one or two principal actors in the majority of shots; the few wide shots in the movie are largely reserved for highly choreographed dance numbers. This means that, unlike in the stage versions, there are dozens of relationships and reactions amongst the Jellicles that are entirely absent. The background characters have few opportunities to build their own narratives, and the world of the film feels emotionally empty compared to that of the 1998 version and many other productions. This even extends to the film’s emotional climax — when Victoria touches Grizabella’s paw. It has weight in the stage show since all the Jellicles are constantly touching throughout the play while treating Grizabella as repulsive, but it doesn’t hit as hard in the movie because there’s much less contrast.
Overall, despite some good performances and refreshing orchestration, watching Cats 2019 feels a bit like when you want to get mad at your boyfriend for always saying “love you” instead of “I love you.” The important part is technically there, but it feels a little hollow. ***Cats is, ultimately, better suited to the stage than Tom Hooper’s screen. You can find DVDs of the 1998 version for less than the cost of a movie ticket — and if you do want to give Cats a chance, that’s what I recommend.
