MovieChat Forums > The Cat in the Hat (2003) Discussion > I don't blame Mike Myers at all for this...

I don't blame Mike Myers at all for this film.


He played the part of the Cat in the Hat really well.
He kept up the silly laughing his character did, the silly jokes and funny physical gestures.
I do agree the "adult" parts (Even though incredibly hilarious) could have been axed out to make this feel like a genuine Dr. Seuss adaptation.
Everything was good.
The film did make it a bit more sillier then the book had it, but it was a nice touch.

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Myers was good and injected a lot of personality and humour.

Its that man again!!

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But he I injected to much of himself. Also the cat was always drawn tall and slender. Myers cat felt short and fat

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http://www.avclub.com/article/amy-hill-being-hollywoods-go-asian-and-why-working-244396

AVC: Since I’ve been picking projects you really liked, what’s a project that you didn’t like working on? Or that you at least found to be really challenging?

AH: The Cat In The Hat.

The Cat In The Hat was with Mike Myers who, if I saw him today, I don’t think he’d even remember who I was. He is like a little hermit. He would come in and, I guess, be in hair and makeup. We would wait. I’d be there at the crack of dawn, waiting. We would all be waiting for Mike Myers to come.

He had his handlers dress his trailer, and his area was all covered with tenting because he didn’t want anybody seeing him. It was so weird. It was just the worst. It was like I was there forever, and my daughter was 2 and a half and I felt like I was missing her first everything. I was miserable. I just thought it was really rude for him to not take all of us into consideration.

And the director [Bo Welch] was really lovely, but it was his first time directing, and he deferred to Mike so much. Mike would do a take, and then he’d go over and look at the monitors, and then he’d talk to the director and then we’d do another take.

It was just a horrible, nightmarish experience. I don’t think he got to know anybody. He’d just be with his people and walk away. People would come and then he’d stand there. There was a guy who held his chocolates in a little Tupperware. Whenever he needed chocolate, he’d come running over and give him a chocolate. That’s what divas are like, I guess. Or people who need therapy.

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I loved him

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I don't exactly how much influence (good or bad depending on your point of view) that Mike Myers had over the production and final product, but here's some food for thought:
http://lebeauleblog.com/2016/03/24/golden-raspberry-awards-2003/6/

Of all of the five nominees, Mike Myers probably had the most influence over the movie he was nominated for. Myers actually made The Cat in the Hat as part of a legal settlement. The actor was sued by director Ron Howard and Imagine Entertainment after he backed out of a movie based on his Sprockets sketch. Myers abandoned the project just before filming was supposed to begin because he didn’t like the script. That was problematic because he wrote the script himself.

Things got contentious and litigious. But both sides agreed to bury the hatchet over The Cat in the Hat which seemed like a sure-fire blockbuster like The Grinch. Myers became very involved in rewriting the screenplay. The actor has a reputation as a notorious control freak and it was rumored at the time that he appointed himself as surrogate director. Supposedly he gave costars Alec Baldwin and Kelly Preston notes on their performances.

When The Cat in the Hat bombed, Myers took most of the heat. The success he enjoyed with Austin Powers and Shrek was fading. In a few years, he would become a primary Razzie target.

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Yes, Myers did a phenomenal job portraying.... Myers... in a cat suit. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it wasn't in its own way amusing, but don't be fooled into thinking it's in anyway an accurate portrayal of Seuss' Cat character.

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https://www.datalounge.com/thread/25960190-why-did-mike-myers-career-go-straight-down-the-shitter-

Cat and the Hat was unwatchable. He made some weird creative decisions on that (like an annoying Linda Richmond type NYC accent) and then would sleep late and show up whenever he wanted. problem was that makeup took like 5 or 6 hours and it ballooned the budget because everyone would end up working triple overtime. there are plenty of stars whose workday starts when they feel like getting out of bed but when 5-6 hrs of makeup is involved, it is a totally different level of dysfunction and budget disruption. they all pay for it in their salaries one way or another.

—Anonymous
reply 29 04/18/2020

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