Standing on the Shoulders of Kittens Review – Quirky Comedy, Funny, Bizarre, Fascinating
- Details
- Category: UK A&E, Lifestyle, Culture
- Published on Thursday, 05 December 2024 11:31
- Written by Janet Walker
Standing on the Shoulders of Kittens, from Blue Fox Entertainment, presents a quirky comedy as the man least likely to realize his dreams is suddenly propelled to the opening act joining Billy Bob Thornton on a European tour.
The film begins with Bubbles, played by Mike Smith, living his rock star fantasy as he plays to a standing room only crowd of geriatrics at the local assisted living facility. His compensation we find out is dinner and he is happy. Bubbles is an odd sort of guy, with glasses that magnify his eyes, he looks a bit like the local nerd. Somewhere, we know there is genius, it just isn't surface level so the work to find his brilliance is a bit of a challenge. However, he is a musical wunderkind and when he takes us on the tour of his studio, Tabby Roads, we understand his musical influence combines with his love for cats.
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Bubbles plays gigs, to stay afloat, and during a prison concert, his song about kittens causes a prison riot. Suddenly word of the riot has reached rocker Billy Bob Thorton, who is taking his band The Boxmasters, on a European tour. Out of the blue, Bubbles get the call, he and his band are traveling European in rock star fashion.
Bubbles manages to slay the crowd, and even as he is gifted musician he is prone to panic attacks that result in accidents. So, one night one, in true rock star fashion, they are all headed to an anything goes after party, and right before they are heading out, Bubbles meets Rolling Stone Guitarist Ronnie Woods, (who appears in cameos throughout the film), and this throws Bubbles into a near meltdown.
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Even with Bubbles quirks, and his roadie Randy, played by Patrick Roach, who is unable to wear a shirt due to an extreme allergic reaction to any fabric, and his band loosen up and begin to feel a little more comfortable with life on the road. Unfortunately, an early run-in with Billy Bob's manager, causes friction, and suddenly let the good times roll was replaced with get off my stage and Bubbles and Randy the Roadie find themselves in the middle of nowhere broke, the make it to London and Bubbles calls home and Ricky, played by Robb Wells, and Julian, played by John Paul Tremblay come to the rescue.
By the end of the story, after a whirlwind of wows, and big wows, a fight the road manger, kicked off the tour, broke, alone in Europe and then he calls his buddies from Canada and they arrive to save the day, Bubbles gets a call from Billy Bob who apologizes and invites them to Abby Road studios for a party.
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The finale is very good. I had never seen the inside of Abby Road studios, and in the film it is used for a party scene, and joining the party a who's who of rock stars including Ronnie Woods, Duff McKagan, Maisy Stella, Lennon Stella, Eric Burdon, Rick Nelson, Daxx Nielsen, Martin Freeman, Carmen Vanderberg, Eddie Kramer, along with Billy Bob and The Boxmasters, which ends up becoming an opportunity for Bubbles to live his dream and record a song at Abby Road studios. It ends up being a jam session.
Standing on the Shoulders of Kittens is a quirky, eccentric and unpredictable, fish out of water story, a day in the life of the man least likely. The oddity of the Bubbles and the peculiar folks that make up his band and by extension his family, was so intriguing that it seemed impossible not to watch. The appearance of Billy Bob and Ronnie Woods, and the other musicians, added realism and the ending is exceptionally good. Essentially, if you can take a song with the lyrics of kittens and turn it into a jam then it must be good.
Standing on the Shoulders of Kittens opens Friday, December 6, 2024, nationwide. See it.
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Country: Canada.
Language: English.
Runtime: 111 minutes.
Release Date: December 6, 2024.
Director: Charlie Lightening.
Producer: Jamie Brown, Mike Smith, John Paul Tremblay, Lewin Webb, Robb Wells.
Executive Producer: Gary Howsam, Ross Mrazek, Angelo Paletta, Benjamin Rappaport.
Writer: Mike Smith.
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Ronnie Woods, Mike Smith, Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, Patrick Roach, Martin Freeman, Robert Sheehan, Tom Mayhue, Brad Stella, Zach Selwyn, Peter Lesperance, Andy Gallant, Dale Murray, Robert Sheehan, Duff McKagan, Maisy Stella, Lennon Stella, Eric Burdon, Rick Nelson, Daxx Nielsen, Carmen Vanderberg, Eddie Kramer, Sherry Brown.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation’s top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.
