Film Reviews

Garfield

• Rating:
• Director: Peter Hewitt.
• Starring: Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Stephen Tobolowsky, Bill Murray.
• Details: US / 94 mins / (G).

Oh dear, what have we here? Another low maintenance adaptation by Hollywood - now there's a novel idea! It's the turn of the podgy cat who appears in countless newspapers across the globe daily. Here, the deeply sardonic, utterly supercilious character (voiced by the deeply sardonic, utterly supercilious Bill Murray) and his movie is something of a misfire. Though the title character is unconvincingly animated and made only tolerable by the mischief of Murray's deadpan contribution, the real problem lies with the picture's lack of dimension in plot matters. Garfield is the smart-assed cat of the rather hapless Jon (Meyer), a chap who doesn't seem to have much luck with the ladies. That all changes when pretty vet Liz (Love Hewitt) arrives on the scene, with a hapless mutt, Odie, in tow. As their owners grow closer together, Garfield's disdain for the excitable, dim-witted hound grows. But when Odie is kidnapped by a former television personality (Tobolowsky), our feline friend is somehow persuaded by what's left his moral conscience to save Odie, and in the process, the day. See what I mean? While films aimed primarily at a childhood demographic are rarely hailed as being masters of the involving narrative, Garfield falls way short. Dim-witted in the extreme, the story, like its title character, moves with a flabby sense of world-weariness. This wouldn't be so bad if a bit of wry humour was injected into the proceedings, but the filmmakers unwisely skimp on anything which could be considered too risque, or indeed, funny. Give it a miss.

Review by Garreth Murphy