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Tom & Jerry (2021)
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
By Lucas Allen
In the 80 years since their inception by legendary animators, William Hanna and Joseph Barbara, the chaotic animated duo of Tom and Jerry made generations of audiences laugh out loud through their Oscar-winning shorts, countless direct-to-video films and some TV appearances. Their previous big screen adventure in 1993 was tainted by fans when the filmmakers broke the cardinal rule of never making the main characters talk. Fortunately, that’s been rectified for this live-action/animated hybrid film version of “Tom & Jerry,” while it seems to take place in a similar universe as “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” where real-world pets are replaced with cartoon versions. Director Tim Story is certainly an unusual choice giving his previous hits being urban comedies like “Barbershop,” “Ride Along” and 2019’s “Shaft.” In New York City, stray cat Tom dreams of a music career while little Jerry Mouse looks for a new home to call his own. After their slapstick battle in Central Park, the two of them end up at the ritzy Royal Gate Hotel. Meanwhile, Kayla (Chloe-Grace Moretz) cons her way into a temp job by her over-eager boss DuBois (Rob Delany). Her job is to help events staffer Terrance (Michael Pena) oversee the upcoming wedding nuptials of Ben (SNL’s Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda). But the job doesn’t come easy for Kayla not only because of the wedding, but Terrance willing to expose her alibi. When Jerry’s antics upsets the hotel’s head chef (Ken Jeong), Tom is brought in to handle the situation. Not surprisingly, their hilarious antics soon turn Kayla’s life, the wedding, and the hotel itself upside down as the classic war between cat and mouse (with the addition of Ben’s pet dog Spike voiced by Bobby Cannavale) rages on. For fans of the old animated shorts, the title duo’s slapstick comedy is as timeless as ever. Every scene they’re both in when they’re chasing and hitting each other is enough to get the audiences rolling in the aisles. The only problem with it is the constant hip-hop soundtrack surrounding their scenes, which is an absolute distraction from the hilarious entertainment. When will Hollywood producers learn that making classic cartoon characters hip and modern does not a good movie make? However, the unnecessary soundtrack is the least of this movie’s troubles. Surrounding the twosome is a by-the-numbers script with dull characters and some bottom-of-the-barrel humor. We don’t care enough about the humans especially whenever the animated animals are on screen. The script is a repurposed “Dunston Checks In,” with the orangutan replaced and more human characters being unrealistically goofy. By the time you get to the “as-expected” third act wedding chaos, you’ll already be checked out hoping and praying that the upcoming “Space Jam 2” will be better. The actors aren’t even trying to salvage the material. It’s one of those movies they’re mainly in for the paycheck and nothing else. They give less credible performances especially when they’re going through the motions. At least the producers were wise enough to make Tom and Jerry not be voiced by a big-name celebrity or use a stereotypical voice, so they get extra points for using their heads if only they used it for everything else. The new “Tom & Jerry” isn’t doing the classic characters any favors. Grown-up viewers will be more annoyed if not nostalgic enough, while the younger ones vie for the visual appeal for “Croods 2.” Those DTV films have more dignity than this so-called “feature film.”
THE MOVIE’S RATING: PG (for cartoon violence, rude humor, and brief language)
THE CRITIC’S RATING: 1.75 Stars (Out of Four)
