When I first read the book, I thought that James Bowen’s the guy on the cover. But that guy is apparently the actor who stars in the movie. Pretty good-looking, no? (I’m talking about the cat now. Haha) Knowing that I’ve read the book (and reviewed it), my darling actually bought tickets for us to watch the movie on Sunday, instead of getting tickets to ‘Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them’ which is what he has been wanting to watch. It came as quite a surprise, really. *muacks* What’s more surprising is how the movie has adapted certain parts of the book instead of following it *ahem* faithfully.
The first half of the movie was like a long drawn out sigh for me. First of all, I didn’t like the camera trying to film from the perspective of the cat, Bob. And secondly, many scenes seemed out of focus or nausea-inducing shaky. Handheld cam, maybe??? And yes, I know it’s a movie and perhaps a female is required somewhere but deviating from the book by incorporating a love interest in a neighbor? Not cool. I preferred the duo (cat & human) against the cold, brutal world storyline versus the I’m-supposed-to-be-living-hand-to-mouth-but-lets-have-some-tea-together scene in the movie. And the whole rubbing wrists part was kind of lame.
By the end of the movie, I had tears flowing due to the scene in which James gets clean from drugs and finds out his father actually kept a picture of lil James in his wallet all along. The next scene was a little abrupt, and left me crying and laughing at the same time… Fish screensaver, anyone? I guess the producers wanted the movie to end on a happy note.
All in all, I’m super happy that James Bowen had his life turn around so dramatically, thanks to a fantastic feline and an astute publisher. Miracles really do happen. I do hope people don’t decide to purchase ginger cats just because they’ve loved Bob in the movie and the book. (Actually the book’s much better) Thanks to the movie ‘Nemo’, the demand for clownfish soared. Keep your fingers crossed that Bob doesn’t cause the same for ginger cats. If you just cannot resist getting one, please adopt, not shop!
Because of the book, I became more aware of the buskers that I used to turn a blind eye to. You might think they aren’t lonely as they’re playing some musical instrument, aren’t they? But I guess no one really likes being thought of as ‘invisible’, or being treated as such. Show them you appreciate them as human beings, and that they don’t need to have an attractive animal around their shoulders for you to begin paying attention to them.
And please… if your child is not for sale, don’t ask people like James to sell their companions to you, ok.
