AGW Entertainment reporter Lynn B. saw a new comedy film

THE CAT IN THE HAT

Universal Pictures

First it was the Grinch and now the Dr. Seuss Cat hitting the big screen. Can Mike Myers be as funny wearing tons of feline make-up and fur as he can as the 1960's icon Austin Powers or the voice of Shrek?

The Walden kids, a brother and sister, badboy Conrad (Spencer Breslin) and control freak Sally (Dakota Fanning) are ordered by successful real estate agent mom (Kelly Preston) not to mess up the house before she hosts an important party. Mom drops off a sleepy, useless babysitter, says goodbye and magically, party animal Cat (Mike Myers) appears, causing the children to loosen up and have some fun that results in the entire house being trashed and cat's wacky world being mixed (at least inside the house) with theirs.

Kids and Cat must retrieve a padlock from the family pooch who has run off with it and close up the Cat's trunk from where all the chaos comes. Causing problems along the way is Lawrence (Alec Baldwin) the gold-digging next door neighbor who wants to marry the kids' single mom and send Conrad off to military school.

Okay, I'll admit right off that, as a child, I was not familiar with the Seuss books so I have nothing to compare this film to but friends tell me it's a big stretch from the more kid-friendly books. The movie suffers from not knowing whether it's a family film or a touch-of-evil romp that features off-color jokes that older teens and adults will certainly get but aren't for kids. Cat's eyes pop out at a Playboy-style centerfold and there are other more "adult" references throughout the film.

Mike is doing characters you've seen on Saturday Night Live or Austin Powers and includes several of the voices we've heard him do including Shrek's Scottish accent so he hasn't really created an entirely new character for the Cat. Alec Baldwin is hilarious however as the sleazy next-door neighbor and Sean Hayes is really funny as the voice of the family fish and mom's snooty, clean-freak boss at her real estate office.

What is really great is the colorful production design, the gadgetry, cars, etc. They are all very Seuss-like, but in 3-D. The physical gags and chases etc. should tickle most kids but the story is pretty thin. The cat leads the kids into being terrible destructive forces but all in the name of teaching them to be more "balanced" in life and learn how to have fun and love each other. That's nice but I wasn't too happy with a scene in which the cat takes the place of a piñata and is belted by kids with baseball bats. Myers IS playing a cat…not a good example.

So, mixed feelings about this one. You might enjoy it for the Cat's crude, humor or the action. Whether it's a family film, although PG rated, is questionable.

Rated: PG

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