Nine Lives (2016 film)

Last updated

Nine Lives
Nine Lives poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Written by
  • Gwyn Lurie
  • Matt R. Allen
  • Caleb Wilson
  • Daniel Antoniazzi
  • Ben Shiffrin
Produced byLisa Ellzey
Starring
Cinematography Karl Walter Lindenlaub
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed by EuropaCorp
Release dates
  • 31 July 2016 (2016-07-31)(Los Angeles)
  • 3 August 2016 (2016-08-03)(France)
  • 9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)(China)
Running time
87 minutes [1]
Countries
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million [3]
Box office$57.8 million [4]

Nine Lives [5] is a 2016 English-language comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Gwyn Lurie, Matt R. Allen, Caleb Wilson, Dan Antoniazzi and Ben Shiffrin, and starring Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Garner, Robbie Amell, Cheryl Hines, Malina Weissman and Christopher Walken. It is an international co-production between France and China. The plot follows a workaholic father who has his mind trapped inside his daughter's new cat. The film was released by EuropaCorp on 5 August 2016 and grossed $57 million. The film was panned by critics, who called it unoriginal and unfunny. [6]

Contents

Plot

Tom Brand is a major business tycoon in New York City whose workaholic attitude ruined his first marriage with Madison, and his adult son David now works for him and strives for his approval. Tom and David now live with their second wife and stepmother Lara, who is a little more tolerant of the fact that Tom is never at home, and their daughter and half-sister Rebecca. Tom’s eponymous company FireBrand is nearing completion on its greatest achievement to date: the tallest skyscraper in the northern hemisphere that will be the new headquarters. In the opening scene, he skydives out of a plane and lands on the top of the new skyscraper, while David remains in the plane, refusing to jump.

Rebecca's 11th birthday comes up and she has always wanted a cat, but Tom has always refused as he hates cats. Not wanting to disappoint her, he rushes to get a last-minute present for his daughter's birthday, but as he is distracted, the GPS redirects him to a mysterious pet store called Purrkins Pet Shop, brimming with odd and exotic cats. The store's eccentric owner Felix Perkins tells him he does not pick the cat, the cat picks him. The tomcat that picks him is called Mr. Fuzzypants, who, Perkins says, has used up seven of his nine lives. Tom buys the cat.

On his way home for the party, Tom meets with Ian Cox, one of the top managers of the company in charge of the new building, and learns that another building in Chicago will be taller. They have an argument while on the roof that ends with Tom firing Ian, but lightning strikes the antenna. Tom is blown off the building along with the cat, and without any effort from Ian to save him, he plummets off the side of the skyscraper, but his leg gets snagged on some stray equipment and gets flung back inside through a window as he passes out. When he wakes up, he realizes that his human body is in the hospital in a state of coma, and his consciousness is trapped inside the cat's body.

Tom is visited by Felix, who is able to talk to him and knows what happened. Felix warns Tom to reevaluate his priorities, connect with his family, and avoid past mistakes within one week or else remain as a cat forever. When Lara and Rebecca take Mr. Fuzzypants home, he acts in an odd and stubborn way to try to convince his wife and daughter that he is actually Tom. This only drives them mad and he slowly comes to see how much he has ignored his family. He suspects that Lara is cheating on him with model Josh Myers and they had been looking at houses together as a prelude to divorcing him. This motivates him to try to make her happy. He also learns that Ian is trying to make the company public with the help of the board of directors to take power from Tom, even though David is trying to stop him. Ian fires David from the company and plans to announce that the company will be sold at the party for the new tower opening.

Eventually, Rebecca realizes that Mr. Fuzzypants is really her father. Meanwhile, Tom's body is in crisis at the hospital and Lara, David, and Rebecca all go there. Rebecca has the cat hidden in her backpack. In a moment alone, David apologizes to Tom for failing to save the company and takes Tom's ID badge, implying he will commit suicide at the tower. At the hospital, Lara and Dr. Cole plan for Lara to sign a DNR, which is a legal form, indicating that if Tom's heart stops beating, they won't save him. Rebecca calls to the cat to come prove he is really Tom, but Tom remembers what Felix said about love being sacrifice and decides to save David instead, sacrificing his only chance at regaining his humanity.

At the tower, David jumps off the building and the cat jumps after him pulling a cable. It is then revealed that David is wearing a BASE jumping parachute. He lands in the middle of the party, presents the articles of incorporation of the company, and announces that he now controls his father's 51% of the stock. He says the company will remain a family company and fires Ian. Although the cat is not seen landing, Tom wakes up from his coma just in time to see David's announcement on the television. Meanwhile, Ian passes Felix who tells him to hang up his cell phone. Ian ignores him, but is then hit by a car, and his consciousness transfers into a cat that Felix takes back to his shop.

Tom and Rebecca return to Felix where Tom asks if he has any dogs. Felix says he does not, but presents Mr. Fuzzypants, who has one life left.

Cast

Production

On 12 January 2015, it was announced Barry Sonnenfeld would direct the film. [14] On 28 January 2015, Kevin Spacey joined the cast. [7] On 25 March 2015, Malina Weissman joined the cast. [10] On 31 March 2015, Christopher Walken joined the cast to play Felix Perkins, the owner of a mystical pet shop, [11] and on 9 April 2015, Jennifer Garner and Robbie Amell joined as well. [8] On 13 April 2015, Mark Consuelos was cast in the film, [9] and on 27 April 2015, Talitha Bateman was cast as well. [12] Principal photography began on 4 May 2015, and ended on 24 July 2015. [15] [16] Filming took place in Montreal. [17]

Release

The film was originally scheduled to be released on 29 April 2016, by EuropaCorp, [18] but was pushed back to 5 August 2016. [19]

Box office

Nine Lives grossed $19.7 million in North America and $38.1 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $57.8 million against a budget of $30 million. [20]

The film was released in North America on 5 August 2016 alongside Suicide Squad . The film was projected to gross $10 million from 2,264 theaters in its opening weekend. [21] [20] The film made $2.4 million on its first day. It went on to gross $6.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing 6th at the box office. [22]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, the film holds an approval rating of 14% based on 72 reviews, with an average rating of 3.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Not meow, not ever." [23] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 11 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "overwhelming dislike". [24] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. [25]

IndieWire 's David Ehrlich gave the film a grade of D, saying the film was “less funny than the average cat gif and approximately 1,000 times as long... Cats may have nine lives, but you only get one, and it’s too precious to waste on this drivel. You’re better off watching a gif of a cat whose face is stuck in a slice of bread. It will save you $20 and a few hours of your time". [26] David Palmer of The Reel Deal gave the film 3/10, writing, "The only reason this 'comedy' won't derail Kevin Spacey's career is no one will ever watch this outside of military interrogation rooms". [27] Rolling Stone 's Peter Travers gave the film zero out of four stars and wrote, "At 87 torturous, laugh-free minutes, the film could change the most avid cat fancier into a kitty hater". [28]

Home media

The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 1 November 2016, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in the United States. [29] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Australia on 7 December 2016, by Madman Entertainment under the alternate title Mr. Fuzzypants. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Spacey</span> American actor (born 1959)

Kevin Spacey Fowler is an American actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards. Spacey was named an honorary Commander and Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2010 and 2015, respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felix the Cat</span> Cartoon character

Felix the Cat is a cartoon character created in 1919 by Pat Sullivan and Otto Messmer during the silent film era. An anthropomorphic young black cat with white eyes, a black body, and a giant grin, he is often considered one of the most recognized cartoon characters in film history. Felix was the first fully realized animal character in the history of American film animation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Farley</span> American actor

Kevin Prindiville Farley is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and director. He is a brother of late American comedian and actor Chris Farley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zachary Quinto</span> American actor and film producer

Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010); Spock in the film Star Trek (2009) and its sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016); Charlie Manx in the AMC series NOS4A2, and Dr. Oliver Thredson in American Horror Story: Asylum, for which he received a nomination for an Emmy award. His other starring film roles include Margin Call (2011), Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), Snowden (2016), and Hotel Artemis (2018). He also appeared in smaller roles on television series, such as So Notorious, The Slap, and 24, and on stage in Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie, and Smokefall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Hart</span> American comedian and actor (born 1979)

Kevin Darnell Hart is an American comedian and actor. After winning several stand-up comedy competitions, Hart had his first breakthrough when Judd Apatow cast him in a recurring role on the TV series Undeclared (2001). He has since had roles in films such as Paper Soldiers (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Soul Plane (2004), In the Mix (2005), Little Fockers (2010), Think Like a Man (2012), Grudge Match (2013), Ride Along (2014) About Last Night (2014), Get Hard (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), The Secret Life of Pets film franchise (2016–2019), Ride Along 2 (2016), Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), the Jumanji film franchise (2017–present), and Night School (2018). He also created and starred as a fictionalized version of himself in Real Husbands of Hollywood (2013–2016).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Amell</span> Canadian actor and producer (born 1988)

Robert Patrick Amell IV is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series The Tomorrow People, Ronnie Raymond / Firestorm on The CW series The Flash, and Nathan Brown in the Prime Video series Upload. Other roles include Fred Jones in the films Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins and Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster, The Hunters as Paxton Flynn, The DUFF as Wesley Rush, The Babysitter as Max, and the science fiction film Code 8 as Connor Reed; the latter of which also starred his cousin, Stephen Amell. He also appeared on television shows such as Life with Derek, True Jackson, VP, Unnatural History, and Revenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Bernthal</span> American actor

Jonathan Edward Bernthal is an American actor. Beginning his career in the early 2000s, he came to prominence for portraying Shane Walsh on the AMC horror series The Walking Dead, where he was a starring cast member in the first two seasons. Bernthal achieved further recognition as Frank Castle / Punisher in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) television series Daredevil (2016) and The Punisher (2017–2019). For his re-curring role as Michael Berzatto in the series The Bear (2022–present), Bernthal received a Primetime Emmy nomination.

The National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble is an annual film award given by the National Board of Review.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Stuhlbarg</span> American actor (born 1968)

Michael Stuhlbarg is an American actor. He is known as a character actor having portrayed a variety of roles in film, television and theatre. He has received several awards including two Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dana Brunetti</span> American media executive, film producer and entrepreneur

Dana Brunetti is an American media executive, film producer and entrepreneur.

<i>Casino Jack</i> 2010 Canadian film by George Hickenlooper

Casino Jack is a 2010 biographical crime drama directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey. The film focuses on the career of Washington, D.C., lobbyist and businessman Jack Abramoff, who was involved in a massive corruption scandal that led to his conviction as well as the conviction of two White House officials, Rep. Bob Ney, and nine other lobbyists and congressional staffers. Abramoff was convicted of fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion in 2006, and of trading expensive gifts, meals and vacations for political favors. Abramoff served three and a half years of a six-year sentence in federal prison, and was then assigned to a halfway house. He was released on December 3, 2010.

<i>House of Cards</i> (American TV series) American political drama TV series

House of Cards is an American political thriller streaming television series created by Beau Willimon. It is based on the 1989 novel of the same name by Michael Dobbs and an adaptation of the 1990 BBC series of the same name by Andrew Davies, also from the novel. The first 13-episode season was released on February 1, 2013, on the streaming service Netflix. House of Cards is the first TV series to have been produced by a studio for Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ansel Elgort</span> American actor and singer (born 1994)

Ansel Elgort is an American actor and singer. He began his acting career with a supporting role in the horror film Carrie (2013). He gained wider recognition for starring as a teenage cancer patient in the romantic drama film The Fault in Our Stars (2014) and for his supporting role in The Divergent Series (2014–2016).

<i>The Boss Baby</i> 2017 animated film by Tom McGrath

The Boss Baby is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee, it was directed by Tom McGrath from a screenplay by Michael McCullers, and stars the voices of Alec Baldwin as the title character, along with Steve Buscemi, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow, Miles Bakshi, and Tobey Maguire. The first installment in The Boss Baby franchise, the plot follows a boy helping his baby brother who is a secret agent in the war for adults' love between babies and puppies.

<i>Elvis & Nixon</i> 2016 American film

Elvis & Nixon is a 2016 American comedy-drama film directed by Liza Johnson and written by Joey Sagal, Hanala Sagal, and Cary Elwes. The film stars Michael Shannon as singer Elvis Presley and Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon, and focuses on the December 21, 1970, meeting between the two men at the White House. The film also stars Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville, Colin Hanks, and Evan Peters. The film was released on April 22, 2016, by Amazon Studios and Bleecker Street.

<i>The Babysitter</i> (2017 film) Teen horror-comedy film by McG

The Babysitter is a 2017 American teen black comedy slasher film directed by McG and written by Brian Duffield. It stars Samara Weaving, Judah Lewis, Hana Mae Lee, Robbie Amell and Bella Thorne. The film follows a lonely 12-year-old boy (Lewis) who discovers that his babysitter (Weaving) is part of a satanic cult that wants to kill him. The film was released by Netflix on October 13, 2017, and received mostly positive reviews from critics. A sequel, The Babysitter: Killer Queen, was released on September 10, 2020.

<i>Billionaire Boys Club</i> (2018 film) 2018 film directed by James Cox

Billionaire Boys Club is a 2018 American biographical crime drama film directed by James Cox and co-written by Cox and Captain Mauzner. The film is about the social club and Ponzi scheme of the same name. The film stars Ansel Elgort, Taron Egerton, Emma Roberts, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irvine, Thomas Cocquerel, Rosanna Arquette, Cary Elwes, and Judd Nelson. The film is based on the real life Billionaire Boys Club from Southern California during the 1980s, a group of rich teenagers who get involved in a Ponzi scheme and eventual murder. The story was previously made into a television film in 1987, which starred Judd Nelson as Joe Hunt, while he plays that character's father in the 2018 version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malina Weissman</span> American actress

Malina Weissman is an American actress and model, best known for playing the roles of Violet Baudelaire in the Netflix series A Series of Unfortunate Events, young April O'Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and young Kara Zor-El in Supergirl.

<i>All the Money in the World</i> 2017 biographical crime thriller film by Ridley Scott

All the Money in the World is a 2017 biographical crime thriller film directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa. Based on John Pearson's 1995 book Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty, it depicts the events surrounding the 1973 kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and the refusal of his grandfather, the multi-billionaire oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, to cooperate with the kidnappers' extortion demands. The film stars Michelle Williams as Gail Harris Getty, John Paul Getty III's mother, Christopher Plummer as Getty, and Mark Wahlberg as Fletcher Chase, an adviser of the Getty family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Garner filmography</span> List of films featuring Jennifer Garner

The following is the complete filmography of American actress and producer Jennifer Garner.

References

  1. ↑ "NINE LIVES (PG)". British Board of Film Classification . 29 June 2016. Archived from the original on 8 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Nine Lives (2016)". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. ↑ "'Suicide Squad' Sets Sights on $160+ Million Opening". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ↑ "Nine Lives (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Mr. Fuzzypants". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  6. ↑ Brueggemann, Tom (7 August 2016). "Top 10 Box Office Takeaways: How 'Suicide Squad' Beat Bad Reviews". IndieWire . Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  7. 1 2 Hayden, Erik (28 January 2015). "Kevin Spacey to Star in Comedy 'Nine Lives' From 'Men in Black' Director". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  8. 1 2 3 Kroll, Justin (9 April 2015). "'Nine Lives': Jennifer Garner, Stephen Amell Cast in Kevin Spacey Film". Variety. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  9. 1 2 Ford, Rebecca (13 April 2015). "Mark Consuelos Joins Comedy 'Nine Lives' (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  10. 1 2 Kroll, Justin (25 March 2015). "Malina Weissman to Co-Star with Kevin Spacey in 'Nine Lives' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 June 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  11. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (31 March 2015). "Christopher Walken Joins Movies 'Nine Lives' & 'Eddie The Eagle'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 4 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  12. 1 2 Ford, Rebecca (27 April 2015). "Comedy 'Nine Lives' Adds 'Hart of Dixie' Actress (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 30 April 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  13. ↑ "Veteran Actor SERGE HOUDE Joins All-Star Cast for Barry Sonnenfeld Comedy "NINE LIVES"". kabookit. 2 June 2015. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  14. ↑ Fleming, Mike (12 January 2015). "EuropaCorp Sets Barry Sonnenfeld For Cat-astrophic Comedy 'Nine Lives'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "On the Set for 5/4/15: Independence Day 2 Starts Shooting While Directors Jodie Foster and Martin Scorsese Wrap Their Films". Ssninsider.com. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  16. ↑ "On the Set for 7/31/15: Chris Pratt Wraps 'Magnificent Seven', Dwayne Johnson Completes 'Central Intelligence', Chris Hemsworth Finishes 'The Huntsman'". SSN Insider. 31 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  17. ↑ Kelly, Brendan (7 June 2015). "Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner spotted in Montreal as Hollywood filming heats up". Montreal Gazette . Archived from the original on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  18. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (8 May 2015). "Kevin Spacey's High-Concept Comedy 'Nine Lives' Gets Release Date". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 12 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  19. ↑ "Nine Lives (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  20. 1 2 "Nine Lives (2016) (2016) - Box Office Mojo". Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "'Suicide Squad' Will Rock August As 'Nine Lives' Cozies Up To Family Audience – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  22. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (7 August 2016). "'Suicide Squad' Opening Weekend Now At $135.1M – Early Sunday AM Update". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  23. ↑ "Nine Lives (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "Nine Lives reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  25. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (5 August 2016). "'Suicide Squad' Looking To Loot Year's Third Biggest Opening With $140M-$145M". Deadline. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
  26. ↑ "'Nine Lives' Review: Kevin Spacey Is Transformed Into A Cat In This Neutered Family Comedy From Hell". IndieWire . 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  27. ↑ "'Nine Lives' a Cat-astrophe of a Comedy". The Reel Deal. 6 August 2016. Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  28. ↑ Travers, Peter. "Nine Lives' Review: Kevin Spacey's Talking Cat Movie Is Pure Kitty Litter". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  29. ↑ "Nine Lives Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. 8 September 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.