What the hell did I just watch? This is the general sense I left the movie theater with. I know it is supposed to be this much beloved and critically acclaimed play, but I just couldn’t get into it.

I likely started with me being biased against seeing Idris Elba as a humanoid cat with fur. Then it snowballed when I watched the movie.

Why did you watch this movie? I took my mom because she wanted to see it. It is what a good daughter does. I eve teased her that I wouldn’t take her to see it with the song “I will do anything for love, but I won’t do that.” But I did because I felt guilty because she’s not going on a trip next year I have planned.

Anyway, the movie focuses on the white cat named Victoria which is not her true name and all cats have three names according to one of the first songs. She is dumped off by a human in an alley and greeted by Angelina cats who all sing and dance in a group. They’re waiting for Deuteronomy to pick one of them who will be reborn into another life. You’re introduced to different groups that you’re not really going to care about and eventually they get to where Jennifer Hudson as a cat is picked to have an extra life and go the high tower or something in the sky. I think Jennifer Hudson should be picked on the fact that she sings like Jennifer Hudson not that saddest cat story which I think is was supposed to be but just sounded like she had several owners which cats can have? But I guess the other cats didn’t and maybe that’s why they didn’t like her.

The plot likely made much more sense for someone who has seen the play. As someone who has not seen the play, it was hard to follow, slow and very sexual. Which felt really weird because they’re all cats and appeared as though they had been all spayed and neutered because there were no differences between male and female cats except voices which in a musical doesn’t help much when everyone has a wide range.

Overall I did not enjoy and will not be seeing it again or even the play.

If you have seen the play, you might understand more of it and may like it. Or find it to be one of those movies that should never have been. “Cats” should just keep running as a play.