The Owl and the Pussycat

Imagine you're minding your own boring business in your own boring world when a strange, yet shapely and buxom, brunette turns up on your doorstep at 3am, cooing and whimpering to let her in. Let’s say you do this (not that you would in 2003 unless you wanted a knife in the guts) and then this unassuming, whimpering kitten suddenly turns feral, runs around your apartment like she’s on fire, and proceeds to accuse you of being a fink, a freak and a pervert. She’d be wrong – wouldn’t she?

In Felix Sherman’s case, she pretty much is wrong. He is a rotten fink for dobbing her into the landlord for taking money from gentlemen callers, and he was observing her through binoculars, but at least he wasn’t getting his jollies from it.

"Quick! Pull my finger!"

Doris is actually a model and actress who has made one or two or three commercials, and a movie, Cycle Sluts, that shows at those late night cinemas in the seedier part of town. After being thrown out by the landlord, she decides that Felix owes her; after all, he makes just as much noise with his typewriter.

The rest of the film follows the twosome as they try to get to sleep and face the next day when Doris is to leave. However, the landlord evicts them before dawn as their noisy arguments and continual bickering and shouting upsets the rest of the neighbours.

They gatecrash a friend’s place, but again quickly descend into a game of who is to blame. As the bickering continues so does the smouldering sexual tension that finally unleashes itself. It really is a thin line between love and hate after all.

Just whether Felix and Doris will manage to work things out is part of the attraction of this film, as it is quite possible they won’t. Their verbal stoushes and rapid fire dialogue is quite a treat and quite amusing. Babs is surprisingly likeable in this film, and no, she doesn’t sing. She is actually quite a versatile actress, and is the key to the success of The Owl and the Pussycat. There are no uproariously funny moments, but more than a few good laughs.

In a weird way it is a bit like Educating Rita in the way the two characters are opposite, yet remarkably similar. It is a battle of the sexes, but in the hands of Babs and George Segal you can’t help but want both to win. There is a genuine chemistry between the two, and a sense of honest fun pervading the whole thing.

"Smile."

The Owl and the Pussycat is presented in its original widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and is 16:9 enhanced. The image is generally sharp and clear for a film that's over 30 years old, though some scenes do appear a little softer. Colours are quite bold and slightly oversaturated. There are no problems with bleeding or noise, and just the smallest evidence of edge enhancement.

Shadow detail is good, black levels are solid, but skin tones occasionally appear a little ‘shiny’. There is the slightest evidence of shimmer, and some very infrequent and insignificant film artefacts that should trouble no one.

The layer change is placed at 46:06.

The only English option is a rather dull Dolby Digital 2.0 mono that just fails to impress. It is largely even, but lacks volume, fidelity, clarity and crispness. All dialogue though is audible, but there is no separation. Low-level sounds are non-existent, but thankfully are not vital for the film’s success.

The best that can be said for this audio is that the synchronisation is fine, and dialogue is clear enough. There are also Spanish, Italian, German, and French tracks, but none are any more impressive.

Well, the extra features are not going to sway the undecided. The Filmographies for director Herbert Ross, Babs and George Segal total six screens, and are very lame. The Trailers for For Pete’s Sake, The Way We Were, and Sleepless in Seattle are nothing special. Two are in pan and scan mode and the other is non-anamorphic widescreen.

As far as romantic comedies go, this one could have been worse. There are some laughs and some interesting exchanges between the leads, but next to nothing in the way of a plot. Babs proves her versatility, Segal is likewise versatile, and the rest of the cast are largely forgettable (as indeed I have). Harmless fun.