Powerful

Expected more

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

At the start of the movie, a man gets in a car and speeds away. Eventually he runs into a man standing in the street.Clinton lives with his mother Edie, in the basement. He looks like Bronson Pinchot went to Howard Wolowitz's barber, though later he looks more grown-up, resembling Andy Samberg. He blames Ford's Megastore for the failure of his comic book store, and now he sells comic books and toys he made at a yard sale. A little boy isn't interested but wonders if the cat is for sale.No, Mouser is Clinton's best friend. But he is depressed and behaving strangely. The vet says that's normal behavior for a 17-year-old cat.One day Clinton finds Mouser in the street dead, with what appears to be an arrow sticking out of him. Technically, it's not an arrow, and it is sold only at Ford's. Clinton calls the cops, and Sheriff Hoyle doesn't take the case very seriously. He is attracted to Edie, though. And the press is quite interested in this "oddball". Clinton becomes a front-page story.Sheriff Hoyle tells Clinton to let the real cops investigate. And when did anyone listen in any movie or TV series when told this? Clinton sees a flyer for a lost cat. It's Mouser! When he goes to the address on the flyer, it's an assisted living facility. He finds the specific room, which has numerous photos of Mouser. But it turns out the resident who owns the cat is a beautiful young woman named Greta, with tattoos and dark hair with fire engine red streaks.Clinton accuses Greta of murder Greta explains that the cat is hers and named Horatio, but he runs away a lot. Greta used to work at Ford's until she found out about some apparently illegal activities. Now she styles the old people's hair and gets a great deal on rent.Clinton shows Greta proof that his cat was hers. Then he and Greta continue their investigation. With hilarious results. The investigation puts Clinton in danger, mainly because of the quirky Yi Kim. Who isn't quite what he seems.This is a goofy mystery/adventure, but it isn't just funny. The drama adds something to it. We learn a lot about various characters, and the movie ends up having more substance than one would expect.Fran Kranz, who is a man, makes an appealing loser. J.K. Simmons delivers his usual great performance. His best line is in a scene where he denies working with Clinton.Nikki Reed is also very good. The best example is her grief over the loss of her cat, which is quite genuine and not funny at all.Leonardo Nam shows a lot more range to his character than just the stoned wacko we meet at the store. Is he crafty like Eddie Haskell, or is the guy at the store not the real Yi?Greg Kinnear is very good as the celebrity store manager known for his outrageous commercials. But he is so much more than that.Even Blythe Danner seems at home here. She has a reputation, but then so does J.K. Simmons, and both of them add so much to what could have been merely silly.And the music is great. Most of it is some type of jazz, with the "film noir" style with muted trumpet the most common.It's really worth seeing.

...... makes you grow up! And in 'Murder of a Cat' that is what we see. Clinton Moisey played by Franz Kranz finds his way out of his mothers basement, he exposes a corrupt local business, and then wins the affection of the girl he loves. All because he loved his cat first!Clinton is determined to solve the mystery of the 'arrow' and it takes him on a journey into himself and the community around him. This flick is lighthearted and often silly but the message prevails - behind every evil or good act there are many stories to be found.Some readers will think my review is finding too much in this simple flick but I think not. Kranz gives a stellar performance in his role as the adult that hasn't grown up but is forced to by circumstance. Once he made up his mind to solve the mystery he discovers there's more to himself than he or his mother realized.Fun, funny, silly, entertaining, and thought provoking.

Clinton is a socially inept and challenged young man who lives in his mother's basement where he makes small action figure dolls. His best friend is a 17 year old cat. The cat is murdered. Clinton decides to play detective. It turns out the cat was leading a double life with another owner-friend, Greta, who thought the cat was hers. She is a young woman who lives in a senior citizens' home. Clinton and Greta then do some detecting together and uncover nefarious doings at a local department store that relate, quite improbably, to the cat's murder. I'm not sure who the intended audience for this film is meant to be, but I'd say fans of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew might find it barely entertaining. As a half-hour or one-hour TV show, it would have been somewhat tolerable, but running an hour and forty minutes it dragged on way too long. Considering some of the actors involved, Greg Kinnear & Blythe Danner, among others, I expected a better quality result. Unfortunately it was more tedious and ridiculous than amusing or intriguing. The supposed suspense and mystery never really amounted to anything that would keep the viewer engaged. Although there was a romantic connection that developed between the two central characters, even that was unbelievable. There were some chuckles along the way, but they were few and far between. It was a major disappointment.

I loved this movie. It is quirky and playful, without being heavy handed. The direction is excellent. The actors all feel very natural as if we, as the audience, are witnessing a little slice of their lives. It tackles big topics of corporate greed, economic issues, aimlessness, disenfranchised youth, love, romance and loyalty. It characterizes alienation in a parent/child relationship in a profound way that is very touching. All of this wrapped in a fun and crazy adventure that starts with a CAT. It is a wild and entertaining ride that left me wanting to stay on board as long as I could. I did not want this film to end. I highly recommend it.