LOOKING FOR KITTY

What to make of Edward Burns as a movie maker? I was enchanted
by his debut, THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, perhaps because it was a milieu
with which I was familiar (i.e., Irish Catholic family). He somehow seems
to be stuck, though, in his subsequent efforts. He manages to attract good
actors to his material but the films are of varying quality. Earlier in 2006,
his latest film THE GROOMSMEN debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival and
received a theatrical release. To say I found it to be mediocre is an
understatement.

LOOKING FOR KITTY made its debut at the 2004 edition of Tribeca and is
only now just seeing theatrical release. It's a trifle of a film about an obsessive
husband (David Krumholtz) searching for his missing wife. Because the husband
has seen his wife in a photograph in a magazine in the musician's company, he
has become convinced that she is in New York City. So he hires a down on his luck
private investigator (Burns) to find her, insisting he be part of the investigation.
A former cop dealing with the recent death of his own wife, the investigator is
perhaps one of the most inept ever to grace the scene. Rather than cutting to the
chase and seeking out the musician, he goes through a convoluted effort that
takes up most of the film's short running time.

There's some humor in the film thanks to the slightly over-the-top
performance of Rachel Dratch as a hot-to-trot woman whom Krumholtz's
character meets in the hotel bar. Kevin Kash as Burns' apartment super
attempts to inject some amusement, but his character is more annoying than
funny. Connie Britton, who had a supporting role in THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN,
reteams with Burns as his attractive neighbor, but her character isn't terribly
well defined. But then, except for the two main characters, none of the
supporting roles are fully realized. It seems as if the screenplay was still in its
initial draft phase, rather than one ready for shooting.

The film is minor key Burns and is a passable way to spend about 80 minutes
but it certainly could have been better.

                       Rating:           C-
                       MPAA Rating:   R
                       Running time: 78 mins.

                   Viewed at Magno Review One

Looking for Kitty