A Talking Cat!?! is made up of subplots tied together by other subplots. As the old adage goes, two subplots do not a full plot make. But maybe a whole mess of subplots will confuse people into thinking they watched something of substance.
Subplots are like edible packing peanuts. It’s neat to try one or two, but don’t eat a whole box of them. You’ll get sick.
Phil, who is newly retired, is going to try his hand at cooking. Surprise! Phil is no good at cooking! In fact, he sets off the smoke detector.
The smoke detector! Holy smokes! Phil’s son, Chris, springs into action! You see, unlike everyone else over 5 years old, Chris still thinks a smoke alarm means danger and not “someone left a little crud in the oven when making a pizza.” This is lucky for us because we get to see Chris come all the way down the stairs from his room.
That’s a relief. I was beginning to worry about how Chris was going to get down from the upstairs.
Chris expresses his concern about this beeping fire whatzit, and Phil admits “I can’t make waffles” like a man finally coming up for air after holding his breath for the last forty years. They’ll have to get a new “waffle machine.” Now, this waffle device could very well be motorized. But I’m pretty sure everyone else calls it a “waffle maker.” Then again, Phil is bad at cooking. And words.
It feels like we’ve been talking about waffles for all of 10 seconds! Time to change the subject to what Chris is wearing. A blue polo and chinos. That’s certainly an unusual style of dress that sticks out and deserves mentioning.
It turns out Frannie is coming over. ANY MINUTE! Certainly a cause for khakis. But Phil doesn’t know who Frannie is. Phil! Don’t you remember the conversation you had about Frannie? Let me remind you.
Chris said “what do you do when you like a girl?” And then a cat came by and distracted you both. How could you not remember that and that Frannie was never mentioned?
Since the house smells like waffles, Phil suggests Chris and Frannie meet by the pool. This “Phil is bad at cooking” subplot will lead us nicely into the “Frannie only wants to swim” subplot. Genius!
Obviously, Chris is embarrassed when Phil offers to bring them juice by the pool. Which causes Chris to retreat. But how will he get back upstairs? I hope they show us.
When choosing clips for the end credits, it’s best to pick the most memorable “standing around” scenes.
Acting with your eyes closed is the most powerful kind of acting.
Phil’s line is “That thing is hideous. What was I thinking?” I had a theater professor who would walk out on any production of Hamlet if the first line wasn’t delivered correctly. He said that “Who’s there” encapsulated everything that Hamlet was about.
Chris gives Phil the first of four eye-rolls we’ll see in this scene. That’s not counting the four “whatever” sideways glances Chris gives.
Chris leaves the room, walks to the stairs, walks up the stairs, and walks out of view. I timed it. It’s 15 seconds of exiting. Because if we didn’t see it all, we’d never know if Chris actually made it up the stairs!
Don’t stare directly at the mouth of A Talking Cat!?! lest he eat your soul.