Catwoman Review

July 25, 2004 3:25 PM
by [email]

Rarely do movies dependent on an actress looking sexy and dangerous fail as much as "Catwoman" does, yet at the same time succeed in every other facet it attempts.

Yes, Halle Berry is beautiful, but what she does and says while Catwoman doesn't show the care and precision that the rest of the story demonstrates as it develops characters, story lines, emotions, and atmosphere. How ironic, then, that the focus of the marketing campaign and undoubtedly the emphasis during production are the worst parts of an otherwise well made movie.

When not leaping across tall buildings and slashing her whip, Berry is Patience Phillips, an artist working in the ad department of a cosmetics giant run by unhappy couple George (Lambert Wilson ? Merovingian in the "Matrix" sequels) and Laurel (Sharon Stone) Hedare.

As the latest line of Hedare Beauty is to be released, Patience overhears Laurel discussing how dangerous the products are, and is attacked by Laurel's goons.

Left for dead on a small isle on the coast of the city, Patience is visited by a multitude of cats and awakes as Catwoman, an alter ego that heightens her senses and gives her newfound strength, speed, and agility.

Toeing the line between good and evil, Catwoman ultimately seeks retribution for (what was) her death, leading her back to Laurel and her henchmen.

During the time we spend with Patience we like and care for her, and know that once she becomes Catwoman she'll get her revenge. The supporting cast does more than show their faces as well. Benjamin Bratt is solid as Tom Lone, the detective who falls for Patience and is investigating Catwoman, and Alex
Borstein (TV's "Family Guy") is delightful as her loyal friend, Sally.

Even Stone, who's had a slew of personal and professional problems, comes off very well as the delightfully bitter and smarmy villain.

The film goes wrong in that Berry, while tantalizingly exotic in the ripped leather, midriff-showing outfit, is anything but purrrr-fect as Catwoman. Part of it is the excess of makeup and short hair that's longer and bleached blond on top, like what you'd see from a skateboard competitor in the X-Games.

More than that, though, is that Berry overacts when she puts the suit on; it's as if she's trying too hard to be sexy, instead of trusting her natural good looks and great body to work for her. When the title character is the most boring person in the film, there's a problem.

So how does Berry compare to other Catwomen? Well, no one will ever top the retro tackiness of Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt, and Lee Meriwether from the original "Batman" television series.

But Berry is going for sexy, not tacky, and although her alter ego
may be better developed than Michelle Pfeiffer's in "Batman Returns," Pfeiffer seemed more comfortable, and naturally sexy, slinking around in the outfit.

(It is worth noting that this "Catwoman" is completelyindependent of the "Batman" franchise, and doesn't even admit to Gotham City as its location.)

If it sounds like a de facto recommendation to say that everything was great in "Catwoman" except for Catwoman, it is not. The film is dependent upon, and uses, the Catwoman segments for its verve and appeal, and for those to not satisfy is a disappointment.

Hopefully in another of her (nine) lives she'll be more interesting.