Review of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) by Damion R — 21 Jan 2011

Ok, I know most people are going to think I am a nutjob for having given this classic film one star, but I am sorry people, I just hated it.

As much as I have a growing appreciation for films from this time, and as much as I know it comes from a time when over-acting was the norm and melodrama was all the rage, this film was so over the top in it's ridiculousness, I spent the entire time wondering why a story about, well, nothing really, won a Pulitzer Prize and spawned a film that is so highly revered and was such a huge hit back in 1958. It is clear that in order to truly appreciate Tennesee Williams' play, you must go to the source and skip this film all together.

Paul Newman, who certainly looks terribly handsome, as always, plays a drunk. A drunk that is shown drinking some sort of alcohol straight out of the bottle like it is apple juice. And by the end of the film, not only does he seem completely lucid, he never seemed to act like he was terribly drunk to begin with. And his performance gets an Oscar nomination? I am sorry, but if any normal human drank as much as Newman does in this film right from the bottle with no mixers in sight, midway through, he'd be so pissed drunk, he wouldn't be able to stand up and by the end of the film, he'd be suffering from alcohol posioning. Ridiculous.

Elizabeth Taylor, who does look absolutely stunning in this film, also got an Oscar nomination as a woman who just wants to sleep with her husband (hello, who wouldn't want to sleep with Newman?), but her presentation is so whitewashed, they almost comes across more like brother and sister than a married couple, and it's just odd and almost uncomfortable to watch. Not to mention, in one scene, Taylor runs out into the pouring rain after Newman and gets soaking wet and ten minutes later, back inside, her hair has miraculously dried perfectly set? During a family crisis, she took the time to blow dry her hair back into place?

Sorry, but the ridulousness of this film just made it a pointless and tiring film to watch. The story Tennessee Williams was trying to get across gets so diluted, it just seems crystal clear to me that no one went to see this film for the story as it was nothing more than a showcase for two beautiful people who needlessly overact.