| | | Life. Love. And a little payback.
Features: DVD, Biographies, Behind the Scenes Footage, Interviews
Actor-cum-fledgling writer Jimmy Zoole has lost it all this New Year's Eve. His girlfriend is seeing someone else. His groundbreaking yet ill-conceived one-man show has closed after one day. His best friend died a few short months ago. His soon-to-be-demolished apartment has been robbed twice. And now his beloved cat is dead. But Jimmy's downward spiral is just beginning. The aforementioned burglar has returned, and Jimmy's caught him. This New Year's will be like no other, as Jimmy holds Eddie the burglar hostage for an emotionally charged, soul-searching, and often hilarious night.
"Hilarious!...Razor-sharp dialogue!" New York Daily News
Editor's Note
Actor Steve Guttenberg makes his directorial debut in this witty black comedy based on the acclaimed novel and play by James Kirkwood (of A CHORUS LINE fame). It's New Year's Eve and out-of-work Los Angeles actor/writer Jimmy Zoole (Guttenberg) is having a very bad night. His girlfriend has just left him, his latest play has been canceled after only one performance, and he has just found out that his adored cat has died. On the brink of a breakdown, Jimmy discovers Eddie (Lombardo Boyar), a cat burglar, hiding under his bed and decides to take the law into his own hands. Eager to teach the burglar a lesson, Jimmy captures him and ties him to the kitchen counter in a desperate act of revenge. Drunk on power, Jimmy tortures and torments the gay Mexican burglar for the next 24 hours. But, Eddie fights back with clever words and the two bicker and spar over the course of an extremely claustrophobic evening. Trapped together in a twisted standoff, what initially begins as a game of cat-and-mouse becomes a strange bonding experience, as the two supposedly different men bond over their extreme situation and their shared struggles. A New Year's Eve like no other, this bizarrely twisted comedy focuses on the character acting of director-writer-producer-star Steve Guttenberg and his talented costar Lombardo Boyar.
| Features | Alternative Ending | | Behind-The-Scenes Featurette | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Audio Commentary With Steve Guttenberg And Cast |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Tla Releasing |
| Release Date: 8/17/2004 |
| Running Time: 88 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2002 | | Catalog ID: 039 | | UPC: 00807839000481 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...Mr. Guttenberg remains the same light and likable presence he was 20 years ago..." 01/17/2003 p.E34San Francisco Examiner 7 of 10
... But Guttenberg doesn't open up the story or change it around in some way--so why not just keep it as a play? That complaint notwithstanding, P.S. Your Cat Is Dead heartily benefits from Guttenberg's goofy charm, the on-screen chemistry he shares with Boyer (also in Takeshi Kitano's Brother), and the laughs and tension they generate together. Not to mention that Guttenberg's Jimmy is such a natural extension of the actor himself, which adds a dimension the original playwright never could have imagined. - Jeffrey M. Anderson
L.A. Times 6 of 10
As a film, however, P.S. Your Cat Is Dead is more deeply felt than fully realized. Despite strong portrayals by Guttenberg and his co-star, Lombardo Boyar, and sequences that attempt to open the play up, it remains too much a filmed play, and worse, one that has not been effectively paced. As a result, it doesn't come alive until it's drawing to a close that's unexpectedly touching, if more than a little sentimental, but too late to redeem the preceding tedium. - Kevin Thomas
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