MovieChat Forums > Cats Don't Dance (1997) Discussion > What the Hell is Max supposed to be?

What the Hell is Max supposed to be?


I'm really confused as to what Max is. It doesn't make sense at all! What is he a giant, an oversized gorilla or human or what? By the way Darla Dimple is not the most likable villain besides she is just a reprise of Shirley Temple only much more of bitch. I mean seriously I wonder what Shirley Temple would think if she saw this? Anyways back to my topic can anyone help me out here? Because this movie is incrediably stupid.

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[deleted]

I think Shrley Temple would laugh. She never seems to be offended at parodies of her character, in fact many times, she pokes fun at the overly-cute performances she had to do.

She's even been reported to not like the drink the Shirley Temple, named after her of course, because she believes it is, "Too Sweet."

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I enjoy this movie. and I agree it wasn't meant to denounce Shirley. But when you think of adorable child star, you think of blonde-hair-blue-eyed-tap-dancing. how you say, Shirley Temple?

i'd rather be his whore than your wife

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Strange, considering she turned down guest starring on The Simpsons for a character that was supposed to be a parody of her.

I have an unbelievably long ignore list.

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Max = body guard... or maybe her dad idk...

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I always just thought he was human; you know, of the super huge, Frankenstein's monster-esque variety. He really doesn't look a whole lot like a gorilla. *shrug* I figure he was designed to be, like, the polar opposite of Darla, visually speaking. (He's huge and ugly, while she's tiny and doll-like, etc.) Or something.

"That woman deserves her revenge, and we deserve to die." - Budd (Kill Bill, Vol. 2)

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If anyone has seen Sunset Blvd, they would probably be able to make a comparison between Max in Cats Don't Dance with Max von Mayerling (Erich von Stroheim) in Sunset Blvd. It wasn't until I saw SB that I realised Max in CDD (which I saw as a kid) must've been based on this character. In SB, Max von Mayerling is the butler/bodyguard of actress Norma Desmond who just happens to be bald, with an intimidating look and foreign accent. Max in CDD appears to be a complete (albeit highly exaggerated) caricature of Erich von Stroheim's character in SB.

What does anyone else think?

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Correct. If you're not familiar with Max von S, Darla's Max won't make much sense.

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lol i always thought of him as a HUGE gorilla. He might be human though, with his scars on his face and all. good question.

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[deleted]

It's a freaking CARTOON people, his size, strength are all supposed to be exaggerated.

I have an unbelievably long ignore list.

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