Nine Lives
2016  PG  COMEDY  1h 27min
CAST— Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell, Cheryl Hines, Malina Weissman, Christopher Walken
MUSIC— Evgueni Galperine, Sacha Galperine  DIRECTOR— Barry Sonnenfeld

     Though labeled a family friendly feline-focused farce, the antics herein leave a lot to be desired. Workaholic Kevin Spacey barely sees his family. His board of directors take their place. Even the ever rare family time is spent pursuing business. But he’s forced to take notice when his daughter demands a cat for her birthday. Of course the preoccupied Spacey finds a secluded, out of the way pet shop with an odd Christopher Walken the sole proprietor. A cat is chosen, a strange accident occurs and Spacey now finds his consciousness in the cat, his human body in a coma. As this cat-hater learns the ins and outs of the household kitty he must simultaneously attempt to convince anyone of his true dilemma. Meanwhile, there’s plenty of superfluous nonsense about the family business, a skyscraper and a hostile takeover of the company. The film is never entertaining enough to be funny, with characters either cardboard or obnoxious taking center stage. The worst offender, sadly, is Spacey, whose attempt at a clever feline personality isn’t believable for a moment. Who does he think he is, Bill Murray? AKA Mr. Fuzzypants.
OUR RATING— * ½