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November 30, 1999
January 1, 2001
Lions Gate
PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Peter Bogdanovich
Kirsten Dunst, Edward Herrmann, Eddie Izzard, Cary Elwes, Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Tilly, Claudia Harrison, Victor Slezak, James Laurenson, Ronan Vibert, Chiara Schoras, Claudie Blakley, Ingrid Lacey, John C. Vennema, Steven Peros, Yuki Iwamoto, Zoi Mavroudi, Despina Morou, Stavros Serafetinis, Soweto Kinch
From acclaimed director Peter Bogdanovich comes The Cat's Meow, an extraordinary look at a fateful excursion of "fun and frolic" aboard William Randolph Hearst's private yacht in November 1924 that brought together some of the century's best-known personalities and resulted in a still-unsolved, hushed-up killing. As Hearst and his lover, actress Marion Davies, set sail from San Pedro Harbor early one Saturday morning, hosting a small group that includes the brilliant but self-absorbed Charlie Chaplin, film pioneer Thomas Ince, ambitious novelist Elinor Glyn, it quickly becomes clear that although witty repartee is the order of the day, deceit and deception are also on the menu.
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A Hollywood scandal springs to life in Peter Bogdanovich's lively Cat's Meow. In 1924 the immensely powerful publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst held a yacht party that ended with a gunshot. Between Hearst's influence and that of his glitterati guests (including Louella Parsons and Charlie Chaplin), no satisfying account of what happened ever made it to the public. The Cat's Meow reconstructs one of the more whispered-about possible scenarios and has quite a bit of fun doing so. Cast and crew alike skewer 1920s Hollywood decadence and, by extension, today's. Eddie Izzard is a boldly odd casting choice as Chaplin, but he succeeds, refusing to fall back on Little Tramp mannerisms. There are several other good performances, but best of all is the cool-as-sherbet Joanna Lumley as the deliciously jaded Elinor Glyn. The script is a strong one, never stooping to the excesses of its characters--Bogdanovich's take is far from the most lurid allegations of what happened that weekend. --Ali Davis - Amazon.com
