Jennifer Hudson can see into the future. While promoting her turn as Aretha Franklin in the underrated musical biopic Respect, the Oscar winner discussed her last movie musical venture—the oft-maligned 2019 film Cats—and made a bold prediction: Cats is going to age like fine, feline wine.
“You know what?” Hudson said, when asked to share her thoughts on the film V.F. called a “tragical mess of Mistofoles” and which currently holds a 19% on Rotten Tomatoes. “I think it was a bit overwhelming. It’s unfortunate that it was misunderstood. I think later down the line, people will see it differently. But it is something I am still very proud of and grateful to have been a part of. Yeah, I got to be Grizabella the Glamour Cat!”
While her answer might sound, in a word, baffling, Grizabella the Glamour Cat does have a point. Cats was obviously not appreciated by its intended audience. Was Tom Hooper‘s use of digital CGI to make the cat bodies and fur realistic deeply uncomfortable? Yes. Did the film have anything even slightly resembling the storytelling convention know as “plot”? No. (Although that’s really Andrew Lloyd Webber and T.S. Eliot’s fault.) Was the scale of the cats in relation to various objects completely inconsistent? Sure. Did Taylor Swift‘s Bombalurina inexplicably and iconically wear kitten heels, despite the fact that all the other cats were barepawed? You bet your bottom dollar she did.
However, just because Cats wasn’t for this world does not mean it may not be for the next. Not for nothing, it’s almost 2022 and we’re still talking about Cats. Name another film from 2019 right this minute? That’s what I thought. For better or worse, Cats has imprinted on society and public consciousness in a way most films only dream of. Who could forget 86-year-old Dame Judi Dench gingerly putting her leg behind her head, or that the powers at be forgot to CGI away her human hand in the final scene? The shock and horror when Rebel Wilson, backed by dancing cockroaches with human faces, unzipped her cat skin to reveal more cat skin? The moment you realized you were not hallucinating, and that a studio really spent $100 million dollars to make this movie? Stephen Colbert made a Cats joke two days ago on The Late Show, earning hearty applause. That’s impact. That’s staying power.
Clearly, Hudson understands what Cats was always meant to be: a dadaist exploration of the limits of film, CGI, musical theater, and coherent storytelling. So, yes, Cats may have not transcended during its intended theatrical window. But who’s to say that the film doesn’t have a bright future, scaring and scarring moviegoers for generations to come? Also, if they release the butthole cut, we’ll all watch it again, because curiosity, famously, killed the… well, you know.
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