2019 was a fantastic year for movie lovers, with the release of blockbuster movies such as Avengers: Endgame, Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood, The Irishman, and last but not certainly not least, Cats. 

 

As one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year, Cats stole the spotlight with its jam packed cast of some of the most talented actors and musicians in the business, such as Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and James Corden. Based on one of the longest running musicals in Broadway history, Cats breaks down class barriers and rejects the ideals of a capitalist society, themes that should resonate with a wide audience, but apparently did not. Additionally, the ideology of surrealism is subliminally conveyed throughout the movie through the use of an inherent Freudian death drive. The concept of death drive focuses on humans’ innate drive towards death. However, once the viewer can peel back the first layer of the metaphorical onion that is Cats, the vision of the movie becomes more clear, and thus one's opinion of the movie changes.

 

The editor of the trailer somehow managed to compile the worst moments of the movie into a scary two and a half minute clip. Creepy faces, bad dance moves, and the chaotic scene changes incite fear in those who have to witness it. Because of the terrifying, disturbing, and altogether scarring nature of the trailer, many people chose not to see the movie. For example, when I was inviting friends to see the movie with me, I heard everything from, “Sorry, my uncle is in town,” to, “My dad is having friends over to watch football and I have to clean the house,” to, “I’m in Texas so no. Also, that’s supposed to be the worst movie of the year.” Obviously, the trailer led to a fundamental bias against this movie which helps explain how it only made an abysmal 5 million dollars during its opening week compared to its 100 million dollar budget. But what if the point of the movie wasn’t to make money? What if the point of the movie was to make a statement about the dangers of capitalism in the film industry? I think that it was meant to show other producers that a movie can still gain publicity without making oodles of money, which too many companies are focused on. Movies should entertain but they should also teach, and I think that the producers and directors of Cats did a great job there.

 

While the Fruedian death drive is a somewhat saddening topic, it is surprisingly prevalent in the world today. To use an example, most humans have a desire to go to heaven or their ideologies equivalent, but almost all of them are unwilling to die to do so. They crave the perceived reward of death but are unwilling to face death itself, mostly because of the competing survival instinct. Apparently, the directors of Cats did not realize that a movie based solely on cats singing songs hoping to be the most worthy of death was a bad thing and decided to take an entirely new approach to death drive. All of the “Jellicle” cats, which is essentially just a fancy term for stray cats, want to experience death. They compete for the opportunity to die. This is problematic for a few reasons. Firstly, the movie is PG for goodness sake! There are children watching as cats drift off to their death. Secondly, it is a classic surrealist move to put something disturbing in front of an audience. Ultimately, the dogma put in place in Cats acts as a sort of counter balance to all other 2019 movies.

 

Yes, the cats were disturbing. Yes, your eyes might bleed, but there is value to be found in a world full of creative expression and media. Cats was meant to be terrible. It was meant to bomb. The money lost with the creation of this movie will slowly decrease over time as people flock to see the movie that is critically reviewed by the Washington Post as “the worst movie of the decade.” I believe that I will be on the right side of history when Cats eventually is looked back upon as one of the greatest surrealist movies of its time. However, even today, there is value to be found in doing something unique. The beauty of this movie is in its hideousness. The directors either knowingly or unknowingly created a masterpiece that uses death in an allegorical way to represent a new life, one worth sacrificing everything for. I predict that Cats will join the ranks of some of the greatest Cult Classic, Box-office bombs of all time. As John Nugent of Empire says, ‘it is truly like nothing cinema has ever seen.” And that, in itself, makes Cats worth watching. 

 

However, none of this is true. Cats is a terrible movie with no deeper meaning. Everything you have just read is a sham, and so is the movie. Just like you wasted your time reading this article, so shall you waste your time if you watch Cats. If you have read this far, please heed this warning. Do NOT see Cats. Cats may have nine lives, but we only have one, and I would not suggest spending that one life watching Cats at home or in theaters. About half way through the movie, I snapped out of the surreal haze into which I had been sucked and realized that I was crying. These were not tears of joy, but rather tears of frustration caused by the knowledge that I had been tricked into seeing this atrocity of a film. There were no hidden themes, there were no redeeming qualities of the film, and it most definitely was about the money, of which they lost a lot. Never see this movie. You are welcome.