Nine Lives
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 This film has zero lives.
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Nine Lives (released on Australian home media as Mr. Fuzzypants) is a 2016 French-Chinese comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Gwyn Lurie, Matt R. Allen, Caleb Wilson, Dan Antoniazzi, and Ben Shiffrin, and starring Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell, Cheryl Hines, Malina Weissman, and Christopher Walken. It is an international co-production between France and China. The plot follows a workaholic father who has his mind trapped inside his daughter's new cat. The film was released by EuropaCorp on 5 August 2016.
Plot
Tom Brand (Kevin Spacey) is a major business tycoon in New York City whose workaholic attitude ruined his first marriage with Madison (Cheryl Hines) and caused a rift between him and his adult son David (Robbie Amell) who now works for him and strives for his approval. He now lives with his second wife Lara (Jennifer Garner), who is a little more tolerant of the fact that he is never at home, and his daughter Rebecca (Malina Weissman). His eponymous company FireBrand is nearing completion on its greatest achievement to date: the tallest skyscraper in the northern hemisphere that will be the new headquarters.
Why It Has Zero Lives
- Unoriginal and cliche story that steals elements from films such as The Shaggy Dog and Cats & Dogs.
- Unfunny and annoying jokes, such as the running gag of Tom (as Mr. Fuzzypants) getting treated as a "punching bag", when he gets turned into a cat.
- Terrible acting, even from actors such as Kevin Spacey and Jennifer Garner.
- Incredibly unlikable characters, with the worst traits going to Rebecca’s friend and her mother. They don't even know how to take care of a cat. They let Mr. Fuzzypants loose without putting out his food, water, or litter box until the next morning. Then they put his litter box next to his food, which is basically the same thing as placing a dinner table next to the toilet.
- Inappropriate scenes, for example, two security guards of the protagonist's corporation were about to shoot the cat with a taser. Another example is that the son looked like he jumped off a building to commit suicide because he couldn't save his father's corporation... in a PG-rated movie, granted the son was just doing a parachute stunt, but still.
- The ending makes no sense and is rather tiresome to sit through.
- Uninteresting chain of events that only serve to pad out the running time of the movie.
- Atrocious CGI and voice acting for Mr. Fuzzypants the cat.
- As mentioned above, this is basically The Shaggy Dog, but even more boring, and this time, the dog has been replaced with a cat.
- Unnecessary use of toilet humor, especially the scene when the cat pees in a purse.
- The soundtrack is rather forgettable, composed by Evgueni Galperine and Sacha Galperine.
- Seeing all the various celebrity cats like Lil Bob and Waffles make cameos is rather pointless.
- Product placement for Talking Tom (despite being the sequel, "Talking Tom 2"), Fruity Pebbles, Raisin Bran, Honey Bunches, etc.
- They also used the colors on the screen of the same app on the entire iPad, Looking like they're trying to get credit to Outfit7.
- Outfit7 even had upgraded The Talking Tom app with a new "Nine Lives" record button for users to record and share "second chance videos". Outfit7 also created content for all of its social media channels including graphics/videos with the cast and a special engagement video featuring Jennifer Garner and Talking Tom.
Redeeming Qualitiies
- Christopher Walken seems like the only good actor in the movie.
- There are some pretty emotional moments here and there.
- Some of the jokes here and there can be a bit and/or slightly chuckle worthy.
Reception
Nine Lives was panned by critics and audiences alike, who called it unoriginal and unfunny. The film currently holds a 14% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes with a general consensus that states: "Not meow, not ever." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 11 out of 100, indicating "overwhelming dislike," as well as a 2.9 audience score. The audience polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Box Office
Nine Lives grossed $19.7 million in North America and $38.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $57.8 million against a budget of $30 million. The film was released in North America on 5 August 2016 alongside Suicide Squad. The film was projected to gross $10 million from 2,264 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $2.4 million on its first day. It went on to gross $6.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing 6th at the box office.
Videos
External links
Nine Lives at the Internet Movie Database
Nine Lives on Letterboxd
Nine Lives on Metacritic- Susan Wloszczyna's review of Nine Lives
Nine Lives on Rotten Tomatoes