Many film directors dream about making their own Citizen Kane, but Peter Bogdanovich found a way to do the next best thing. Where Orson Welles borrowed famously from the life and ego of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst for his masterpiece, Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow takes an incessant rumor about an infamous and mysterious death aboard the real Hearst's yacht in 1924 and turns it into a foxy, spirited historical showbiz anecdote. Kirsten Dunst leads the cast in a spunky, sensual, savvy performance as Marion Davies, a young starlet (and Hearst's mistress) who invites her Hollywood friends onboard for a weekend boating party that brings out tensions old and new, with never a dull moment. How could there be with the likes of Charlie Chaplin (Eddie Izzard), sardonic novelist-socialite Elinor Glyn (Joanna Lumley), gossip columnist Louella Parsons (Jennifer Tilly) and insolvent producer Thomas Ince (Cary Elwes) around? Delightful, funny, dramatic, and memorable, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include commentary with director Peter Bogdanovich; a 23-minute "Anatomy of a Scene" Sundance Channel production; the restored 20-minute "Behind the Screen" Charlie Chaplin 1916 short; a 20-minute "It Ain't As Easy As It Looks" making-of featurette; four interview segments: "Getting Started," "The Characters," "Greece," and "Time Spent Together," ranging from two to four minutes in length; and a near 12-minute newsreel "Seein' Stars" from 1919. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a fine film.] (R. Blackwelder)
The Cat's Meow
Lions Gate, 112 min., PG-13, VHS: $69.99, DVD: $24.99, Aug. 20 Volume 17, Issue 4
The Cat's Meow
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