Yesterday’s movie: Cats and Dogs

Having a four year old in your life has some unexpectedly pleasant benefits. One expects the smiles, hugs, and kisses when that special child is happy. But you also get to see movies an adult wouldn’t dream of watching (or admitting to watching anyway) like Cats and Dogs. This movie must have been amazingly hard to make–I mean, how do you ‘direct’ actual animals (not robots or mechanicals) even if they are trained? And all the special effects surrounding their dialog. Ninja cats and rocket sled riding dogs battling over a formula that would eradicate human allergy to dogs. Mr. Tinkles (voiced by Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes) is trying to lead cats back to domination of humans and the Earth. But dog agents Butch (Alec Baldwin) and puppy Lou (Tobey Maguire) are on the case. Jeff Goldblum’s gawky awkwardness is actually suited for his role as the scientist.

While researching this entry, I found out that one of the film’s producers is named Andrew Lazar. Unfortunately not a relative but he has produced such outstanding movies as Space Cowboys (so he knows Clint Eastwood and James Garner), 10 Things I Hate About You (Julia Stiles), and The Astronaut’s Wife (Johnny Depp and Charlize Theron).