Garfield 2 Review

"Garfield 2" reviews

Movie

Garfield 2

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2009-08-17 21:19:29

Rating

1/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

It's really unnerving to have to sit through a second Garfield when the first was just so excruciating. But alas, here we are again--and now there's two of them. Joy.

Story

The thing is, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties doesn't even have anything to do with the classic Charles Dickens novel. Two Kitties is more a pauper/prince type story. I guess kids probably don't know what a "pauper" is and, well, The Prince and the Pussy wouldn't really work, would it? Still, they could have at least come up with a clever story to go along with the title. This time around, Garfield (Bill Murray) wants to stop Jon (Breckin Meyer) from asking cute-as-a-button vet Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to marry him on a trip to London by stowing away. Once over the pond, the fat yellow cat ends up being mistaken for a royal fat yellow cat, Prince (Tim Curry), who has just inherited a castle. Sure, Garfield likes all the perks--minced pie anytime he rings a bell; pampering beyond your regular tongue bath; and no Odie. There are a few downsides, namely an evil relative (Billy Connolly) who wants the cat dead so he can get the estate, but it doesn't matter. Both cats are killed in the end anyway. Oh, I'm kidding (I only wish).

Acting

The laconic Murray is certainly a wise choice to voice the indolent fat cat and was mildly entertaining in the first Garfield. But for the Oscar-nominated actor to agree to do it again, let's just say it must have been very costly for the producers. I would hope, anyway, that he asked for a lot of money because why else would you do something as inane as this? The character interminably grates. There are also a bevy of British actors in Two Kitties, who are equally annoying doing animal voices--from Curry as the mollycoddled Prince to Bob Hoskins as a bulldog and Sharon Osbourne as a pig. As for the human factor, Meyer and Love Hewitt are gag-producing sugary sweet, while Connolly just makes a complete ass of himself as the dastardly villain. It's kind of embarrassing actually --for everyone involved.

Direction

It still boggles the mind the first Garfield grossed $75 million domestically. Yes, it was an understandable endeavor since the comic strip has always been immensely popular, and with the advent of CGI, creating the Garfield we all know and love for the screen was finally possible. But the first Garfield was so mind-numbingly ridiculous, you just have to wonder what the audiences saw in it. I guess maybe it had something to do with keeping 7-year-olds occupied. Of course, all the studio execs saw were dollar signs, so it stands to reason they'd make a sequel. It made money, dammit, so we have to do it again, can't you see that? OK, so let's say we go with that reasoning, hoping maybe they'll have realized their mistakes with the first and come up with something better. No such luck. I have feeling this time around, however, those same execs may be disappointed. In a summer full of far more stellar entertainment for the kiddies, these Two Kitties are going to, thankfully, fall by the wayside and put an end to the franchise once and for all.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film 1 star.

Movie

Garfield 2

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-07-20 00:00:00

Provider

MyMovies

Review

The fat cat returns in this family friendly outing which sees the furry feline head across the pond to jolly old England - only to get caught up in a tried and tested Prince and the Paw-per type scenario. The movie sees Garfield's owner Jon (Breckin Mayer) following his vet other half Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt) to London in a bid to pop the question. But Garfield (voiced once again by Bill Murray) and Odie have stowed away and are soon getting to know the city when a wrong turn sees Garfield mistaken for rich moggy Prince (Tim Curry), whose owner has recently died, leaving the ginger tom a sprawling estate to preside over. Soon Garfield is ensconced at the Castle where his every whim is catered for but the evil Lord Dargis (Billy Connelly) - who will inherit everything if something happens to Prince - has plans to disrupt Garfield's purr-fect new life.

There's no doubt that anyone who enjoyed the first "Garfield" movie will get a kick out of the lasagne-lovin tabby's return. Bill Murray is inspired as Garfield, obviously ad-libbing much of his way through the movie while a very British-centric cast (other voices include Bob Hoskins, Joe Pasquale, Richard E. Grant, Rhys Ifans and Vinnie Jones) add a local flavour.

However, when it comes to it's representation of the UK, the film is so stereotyped that it's amazing - the screen is filled with posh butlers, statue-like Coldstream Guards, Rolls Royces and vast country piles. Maybe director Tim Hill is trying to offer up a London that young moviegoers will recognise but for the rest of us, it's just another example of how our American cousins love us peculiar Brits and our antiquated ways.

Movie

Garfield: A Tail Of Two Kitties

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-07-18 15:54:08

Provider

Review

Despite the title's allusion to Charles Dickens, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties has little or nothing in common with the novelist's account of the French Revolution. Which is hardly a surprise, it must be said, given that the first film in the Garfield franchise revolved around the Bill Murray-voiced housecat's penchant for torturing a dog, Odie, and gulping down lasagne.

Its follow-up sees the talking cat touch down in England, where his hapless owner, Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Meyer), is intent on proposing to Jennifer Love Hewitt's veterinarian, Liz. Alas, they find themsleves embroiled in a case of mistaken identity when a pampered royal cat called Prince – who, whaddya know, looks exactly like Garfield – is tageted for extinction by a horribly envious would-be heir.

It would be nice to report, of course, that there is more to Garfield 2 than meets the eye. There's not. Love Hewitt and Meyer are bland beyond belief – the latter all but phoning in her entire performance – while the villainous Billy Connolly (the aforementioned heir Mr Dervish) is so over the top it is absurd.

If nothing else, however, he at least wrings the odd funny moment out of a script which relies on Garfield's attitude and wordplay for laughs.

There's a nice musical moment when Garfield constructs a rock ode to the making of lasagne, but really, unless you are three or four years old, there's nothing here that hasn't been seen a million times before.

Memo to Bill Murray: get out while you can.