The Cat's Meow

In a Nutshell: Great cast, fairly good movie. Definitely fun if you love the roarin' 20s.

Quick Plot: William Randolph Hurst throws a party for his friend Tom, a formerly in-demand film producer who's career has hit a rough patch. Assembling various famous figures from Hurst's real-life exploits (including his mistress Marion Davies and her rumored lover Charlie Chaplin), this film tells the story of that weekend, and a much-rumored murder that supposedly took place.

In Detail: Strangely, this film strikes me much like the American version of Gosford Park. Perhaps I connected more with "Cat" than "Gosford" simply due to culture. I know a bit about Hurst and Davies and Chaplin, and the lives they lead in the mid-1920's, so maybe that gave it more weight and relevance to me personally. The casting is exquisite, the direction and set-up quite good. I thought it was fun, but I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea (or glass of bathtub gin, as the case may be). Kirsten Dunst shines! She was perfect for this role. Edward Herrmann is great as Hurst (I've always thought they favored each other a bit). The other characters are quite good, though I personally could have done without Jennifer Tilly. A great study into the era, and a great theory about what really happened on that yachting trip.

Will I Buy It? I'm not sure. I liked it more than my husband, even enough to buy it, but again, I'm not sure I'd watch it enough to make it worthwhile. It's on my "thinking about" list.