This is all before the obligatory smattering of studio-noted zeitgeist nods that make you wonder whether this was a project that’s been in the can for a few years already and is only just coming out now.
And what 2021 kid’s movie is complete without a Marty Feldman reference? You probably already know what hand gesture Jerry gives Tom as the pair stare each other down before a big fight. There’s a weird attempt at industry-based intellectual property humor that pops up in the movie’s first few lines that never really yields anything comparable after. “Tom and Jerry” is ostensibly a comedy, though the throw-spaghetti-at-the-wall approach of Kevin Costello’s script rarely yields any jokes that stick. On the spectrum of repurposing to fit into an existing franchise, this would be pretty far from “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” but the film does have the good sense to bring in charismatic professionals who know how take advantage of the minimal breathing room they’re given. The movie’s opening act plays like someone shoehorned Tom and Jerry into an existing spec script about a con artist who accidentally finds her way into wedding planner job. Moretz, Delaney, and Peña manage to do more with a perfunctory, nonsensical setup than the average trio could have. The on-screen actors may well have had fun filming for a few weeks inside a hotel, pretending to mess with drones and flinging themselves around as if tormented by the surprising number of non-feline, non-rodent animated creatures there end up being in this movie. (In both the at-times-offputting animation style and its relative place/quality in an established, beloved tradition, this should pair nicely on HBO Max with “ Earwig and the Witch.”) It’s when this version of “Tom and Jerry” starts trying to squeeze those humans into this setup that both worlds feel smashed together and equally lifeless. (When not rabies-level foaming on the camera or defecating on the streets of New York City, he’s voiced by Bobby Cannavale at his most, well, cartoonish). Tom and Jerry trash duvet covers, smash up lounge pianos, and draw the unwanted attention of the classic bulldog antagonist Spike.
Maybe the one element that keeps this movie from being an entirely wasted effort is that amidst the bizarre machinations of luxury hotel event managing, there’s some room for good old fashioned, one-on-one comic mayhem. This all happens without giving Tom or Jerry a speaking voice, as 1993’s “Tom and Jerry: The Movie” did.ĭespite this confounding packaging, “Tom and Jerry” isn’t completely devoid of its animation history DNA. Not only are Kayla and company unphased by the presence of animated animals, they eventually join forces in a “Toontown but without the prejudice and rigid social hierarchy” kind of way. Wes Anderson's Best Shots: 30 Perfect Images That Define His Careerīefore long, the runup to Ben and Preeta’s wedding collides headlong with the latest round of destructive Tom-Jerry bouts, endangering the psychological well-being of everyone involved and giving Kayla a growing, disproportionate list of responsibilities.
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What Were the Number-One Movies and TV Shows of 2021? We May Never Find Out. Terence quickly cools on Kayla for the same reason that Tom and Jerry are constantly feuding: just because. Dubros (Rob Delaney) hires her to the temp staff, under the supervision (and objections) of events manager Terence (Michael Peña). Going off absolutely nothing other than a pilfered resume and thirty seconds of small talk, hotel manager Mr. A significant portion of the movie revolves around Kayla ( Chloe Grace Moretz), a character who successfully swindles her way into a job at a swanky New York hotel mere days before the wedding of Ben (Colin Jost) and Preeta (Pallavi Sharda), the social event of the season.