I never dreamed I’d see the day when felines and Jedi would be battling to the death.
Well, technically, they’re battling for box-office dominance, but really, could anyone have predicted a match-up between a film version of the West End/Broadway smash “Cats” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”? The films open against each other in theaters tonight before taking up full-day schedules on Friday.
The original “Star Wars” hit theaters in 1977. “Cats” debuted in London’s West End in 1981 and on Broadway in 1982. Prior to “Skywalker,” “Star Wars” franchise earnings are up to more than $9.2 billion. According to a tally by the New York Post, “Cats” had made $3.5 billion by 2012.
I saw “Cats” on Broadway on St. Patrick’s Day 1983, a couple of months before “Return of the Jedi” (as it was quaintly called back then) debuted to “conclude” the “Star Wars” saga. My BFF and I bought tickets six months in advance.
The buzz that began in London was incredible. The show was amazing. I became an instant fan of Betty Buckley and Terrence Mann. (When I was called upon to review a touring production at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium, it didn’t stand a chance.)
My memories of seeing “Star Wars” are vivid, but “Return of the Jedi,” not so much. I loved the original film, but the Ewoks in the third got on my nerves more than Jar Jar Binks would later.
I still haven’t seen any “Star Wars” movies as good as the first two, though I’ve enjoyed most of them. My fingers are crossed for “Skywalker.”
As for “Cats,” the stage version was a magical musical, with comedy, drama and incredible dancing and costumes. The trailers look like the movie has much broader comedy, especially with James Corden as Bustopher Jones and Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots. Jennifer Hudson looks too young to be playing Grizabella.
However, having Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy (she was the original choice in London), Idris Elba as Macavity and Ray Winstone as Growltiger gives me hope.
If you’re ready to take a break from shopping and wrapping and baking and all that other stuff, join me at the movies this weekend!
Also opening Friday are “Bombshell,” starring Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie, and director Terrence Malick’s World War II-set “A Hidden Life.” On Christmas Day, “Little Women,” directed by Greta Gerwig, “Spies in Disguise” and “Uncut Gems,” starring Adam Sandler, open.
Betsy Pickle is a veteran entertainment, features and news reporter best known as the longtime film critic for the Knoxville News Sentinel.