By: debbie lynn elias
As described by one of the film’s stars, Paz Vega, CAT RUN is ” really a crazy funny movie. There is a lot of action. But this one is a surprise, which is important. Every week you see action movies, action movies. But this one still can surprise you. I love that. It surprised me when I read the script and it surprised me when I saw the print.” I wholeheartedly agree with Vega’s assessment. CAT RUN is a wild crazy ride that harkens to old school action blended with the crime caper slickness of Danny Ocean. Filmed on location in both Serbia and Montenegro, the scenic visuals are beautiful while the unfolding story is…”crazy funny.”
Anthony and Julian are your typical underachievers. Best friends, Anthony is a disappointment to his well-to-do family thanks to his desire to forego the family business or some other “acceptable” career and pursue his dream of being a world class chef, while Julian is, well…Julian is a fun-loving dreamer with get-rich-quick hair-brained schemes utilized, of course, as a means to pick up girls. Meeting up in Montenegro, Anthony hopes to wow a local restauranteur with his culinary skills while Julian shows up unannounced looking for fun and a free ride on his buddy’s coattails.
Meanwhile, across town the evening prior, a gala celebration was going hot and heavy with local politicians and visiting U.S. Senator Bill Krebb. And from the looks of things, political partying takes on new meaning when the main entertainment is “female escorts, included the exotic Catarina “Cat” Rona. Not one to miss out on excitement, Krebb, with a rather large kinky streak, takes full advantage of two of the escorts, leaving one of them dead while in the throws of passion. With the entire ugly session videotaped and witnesses galore, there is only one solution to the problem. Cover it up; rush Krebb from the party to avoid political scandal and kill all the witnesses. Simple enough but for one problem. Cat. Seeing the tape, and identified as a witness, she flees the scene before she can be eliminated. Now on a run for her life, Cat doesn’t know what to do or where to go. The only thing of which she is sure is that she has to protect the most important person in her life – her infant son Milo.
It doesn’t take long for paths to start crossing and adventure and excitement to come the way of Anthony and Julian, when a beautiful mysterious woman appears at Anthony’s restaurant – Cat. Immediately smitten with the vixen, Anthony doesn’t seem too concerned when she steals his car and Julian’s cell phone. Julian, of course, is in a frenzy; so much so, that on seeing a tv commercial with a private investigator Martin Riggs look-alike, he gets inspired with another of his get-rich-quick plans – start-up JUAN Investigations (pronounced JU-AN for Julian and Anthony). And as luck would have it, their first client is someone looking for a missing person the boys identify as Cat.
Adding to the mix, besides all the henchmen on the lookout for Cat, is Helen Bingham. A former MI6 agent turned mercenary for hire, Bingham is the best in the business, and her business right now s to get to Cat before anyone else. With a no holds barred technique, no one is safe from her tacit wrath as she kicks, pummels, punts, explodes, guns down anyone and everyone in her path until she meets up Julian and Anthony, and ultimately Cat, when the tables turn, alliances regroup and intrigue, excitement and crazy fun escalate.
Paz Vega is a delight at Cat. Self-described as “lov[ing] to do risky movies, with great character and great women to say something to the audience”, Vega goes all out here, performing the majority of her own stunts while bringing a well-balanced blend of action and the tenderness of motherhood to Cat.
As for Alphonso McAuley and Scott Mechlowicz, Julian and Anthony, respectively, these two have the perfect chemistry for a buddy sitcom or continuing film series. I can so see the Juan Detective Agency in a sequel but I think it would really take off as a tv series with these two guys. McAuley is so Chris Rock a la “Lethal Weapon” while Mechlowicz just comes across with a great sincerity, calmness, and niceness as Anthony. They bring such elan and freeing humor to the caper at hand that they make it joyous and fun to watch.
One of my longtime favorite character actors, Christopher McDonald, puts his indelible stamp on Bill Krebb, including his first naked butt scene in his storied 30+ year career. And yes ladies, McDonald did his own ass work. “What’s so great about [this scene] is that John Stockwell had like 19 angles on it. I knew I was going to have this scene. I was going to embrace it and play that fat ugly American and I think I did that.” Trust me. He did. And he’s not what I would ever call “fat” or “ugly.” You all know McDonald from his years of snarky and snide perfection in films like “Happy Gilmore” and “American Pie” and more recently with his recurring dramatic turn in “Harry’s Law” with Kathy Bates. And although he has locked in on niche character typing, it’s the fact that he has the ability to “go off a little bit and [do] something completely different and surprising” with his performance that sets him apart and makes him “the go to guy” for a role like Krebb. An actor who “loves doing independent film” and who “loves to be challenged. . . I never played a part like this before; had gone to Montenegro or Serbia. This is an interesting thing. I had no idea how it was going to turn out, but I love Paz Vega and I love Janet McTeer. I think [McTeer] is one of my favorite actresses. So, I thought, I gotta do [Krebb].”
And what about Janet McTeer? She just steals the entire film. Beyond “awesome”, this is a totally unexpected and brilliant performance. Not the type of role McTeer usually does, she is simply glorious as Helen Bingham. Icy, calculating, mechanized with a dry witted sensibility, McTeer grabs the gold, taking no prisoners with wry humor, yet some very touching levels of humanity. What also helps make McTeer’s performance is the fact that Stockwell never let any sentiment linger in Bingham or detract from the feel of the film as a whole. He quickly moved back into some tongue-in-cheek dialogue and fun. According to Vega, “Janet did an amazing job. Her character is so fantastic. She is like a James Bond but like a mind popping psycho killer.”
Written and directed by John Stockwell, the characters are fun, funny, seriocomic, politically incorrect and of such an eclectic assortment that there’s no “take no prisoners” feel – everything and everyone was fair game. The overall story is very stylized with an “Oceans” trilogy feel to it but then moves into some irreverence and edginess that goes beyond the dark dry humor a la Clooney & company, adding those great layers of funny and fun. Killing Caper meets Comedy. While many of the elements of the film we’ve seen before, there is some real creativity and ingenuity at putting everything together for the final package of CAT RUN that sets it apart from other caper, chase, spy films.
Stockwell hits the ground running with titles that set the stage during the opening scenes, grabbing one’s attention with naked women and Chris McDonald’s ass-baring “sex scene.” Maintaining a fast pace with the complexity of who’s chasing whom, the editing fuels the film and perfectly blends so many caper/thriller touchstones. And action? It never ends, although I must say that one of my favorite sequences is McTeer in a combat duel, shot in slow-motion and set to a tango. Inspired and wonderfully lensed and edited to the point of looking like a beautifully choreographed ballet. The icing on the cake is the music which is perfectly suited to each visual sequence, serving to add yet another layer and level of humor and levity to the film.
Vega can’t give enough applause to Stockwell. “He was fantastic. It’s great when you work with actor who is directing because they know what you need at every moment. He knows when you need your time. He knows when you need pressure. He knows exactly how to explain to you what he wants. It was a very good experience to work with him. I love to work with him.”
Both McDonald and Vega loved the lensing locations. Vega called it “a beautiful experience. That country is beautiful. The people are amazing. We were in Serbia and Montenegro. It was very nice. Both are very beautiful places. Walking on my free days. For all of us it was a beautiful experience.” As for McDonald, “”I loved the fact that we got so much production value out of the fact of shooting in Montenegro and Serbia.”
When I asked Christopher McDonald why one should see CAT RUN, his answer was easy. “Escape. It’s a romp. Nothing’s safe about this movie so the one reason to go is just an ‘I am just going to enjoy the ride.’ CAT RUN has it all. People who like the envelope pushed a little bit farther out will really dig it.”
Run, don’t walk, to CAT RUN.
Catarina Rona – Paz Vega
Helen Bingham – Janet McTeer
Julian Simms – Alphonso McAuley
Anthony Hester – Scott Mechlowicz
Bill Krebb – Christopher McDonald
Written and directed by John Stockwell.
