2014’s Grumpy Cat’s Worst Christmas Ever is another one that, despite being widely hated, I find myself loving. Although a little rough round the edges, this film is an excellent reminder about not taking life too seriously, to appreciate silly things and to laugh at yourself sometimes.
Director Tim Hill’s Grumpy Cat…, is a cheap, daft but enjoyable film, surely the first movie ever to be based on a meme involving a frumpy feline. Grumpy is a crabby kitty, stuck living in a pet store because she looks like “the kind of cat who’d smother you in your sleep”. We hear her tetchy, withering inner monologue, voiced perfectly by Aubrey Plaza who has built a fantastic comedy career on her whole “whatever”, sarcastic, unimpressed schtick.
Brilliantly, Grumpy - like Deadpool - is very aware that she’s in a movie, regularly chastising the audience for watching this crap. It’s very clever for a Lifetime movie - without the sarcastic voiceover the film would be a pretty awful, ten-a-penny Christmas kiddie farce. With it, it’s inspired comedy gold.
Grumpy befriends a 12-year-old girl named Crystal (Megan Charpentier) who volunteers at the pet store after receiving a magic coin from Santa that lets her hear the cranky cat’s thoughts. Grumpy is only too happy to point out how ridiculous that is, referring to the child as a “blonde witch”. Brilliant. So, kid and cat get mixed up in a rote plot involving two failed rock-stars who dog-nap a valuable pooch from the store. This is all a very flimsy excuse for various ridiculous cutaways of Grumpy Cat doing her grumpy breaking the fourth wall thing.
Admirably, the film doesn’t hide that it’s a shameless cash-in on the mog’s internet fame, leading to many self-aware laughs. Grumpy snarkily points out how rubbish the script is, suggesting ways to improve it, like adding car chases, explosions, gun fights or maybe just very sensibly calling the cops immediately.
I can’t think of any other film where the narrator constantly berates you for watching and I must applaud this. I also love that even Grumpy’s “meow” sounds contemptuous and bored. This film maybe isn’t for everyone but it totally works on me. Near the end, the day saved, Crystal’s mom concernedly asks her if the criminals “did anything to her”. Grumpy observes that, well, “that’s a different kind of Lifetime movie”. Ouch.
Comments