Crush of the week : Catwoman

 

This pic from ' Dark Knight Rises ' reminds me of the Batman bubble gum cards I use to buy as a kid.

Having just seen ' The Dark Knight Rises ' this past friday night I have to say it may be the best Batman movie yet. A long movie that clock's in at about 165 minutes, the pacing rarely flagged,  I never thought to look at my cell phone to check the time [ a rare thing for me when watching a movie that's over two hours ]. Nolan crafted a well thought out plot with the visuals brooding, the audio creative. At times the sound was near non-existent and the music was bombastic when needed but also quiet and moving. Perfs all around were just what the film required. Bale's Batman was, well, Batman [ hoarse voice and all ], his Bruce Wayne quiet, wounded and reclusive. Nolan has been on for sometime about making a film on eccentric, reclusive, obsessive billionaire Howard Hughes. Well it appears that film is no longer on the table as Nolan's next flick, he says in the latest issue of Empire magazine that he scratched that itch with the Wayne character in the Batman movies. If he did, it was merely a sketch, a doodle drawing of a subject that requires a color portrait to do it full justice. I could see the resemblance so I guess he was working in some touches on the subject of Hughes. But this being a Batman movie, well, it was just a bit of character to give the overall film some emotional pull. There is no one outstanding Heath Ledger-like scene stealing in this latest entry. However the heart and soul of this movie belongs to Michael Caine's Alfred. Always Master Wayne's father-figure, Alfred also acts as Wayne's conscious. Alfred figures quite prominently in the first half, almost completely disappears in the second, save for two outstanding and touching scenes. If any one actor walks away with the film, it's Caine.

Alfred with Master Wayne, in full Hughes mode.

Miss Kitt's Cat.

Puss in boots: Newmar's Catwoman

Meriwether's attractive Cat

Having said all the above about ' The Dark Knight Rises ' let me get to the main subject at hand: Catwoman. There have been many actresses who've tackled this part in the past.  One of the first was Julie Newmar fom the ' Batman' tv show of the 1960's. Then there was Eartha Kitt's feline . One would have thought this a purr-fect fit, Eartha had a animal, cat-like appeal that should have translated well. For me, at least, it didn't. I wanted Julie back.  The popularity of the tv show was parlayed into a movie with the cast from the show pretty much intact. Cesar Romero as Joker, Frank Gorshin as Riddler and Burgess Meridith's Penguin. And of course Adam West pudgy Batman and Burt Ward's holy-enthusiastic Robin.  But again the creator's mucked around with Miss Kitty. This time they cast Lee Meriwether as the Cat. Ms. Meriwether was a Miss America 1955 edition winner so the looks department were pretty much there but the danger, sexiness and fire needed to bring life to the Cat was sadly lacking.

Halle with Sharon in Catwoman

 In 2004 Miss Kitty got a big movie all to herself. ' Catwoman ' with Halle Berry as the the woman with the whip, with another hot momma Sharon Stone as her arch enemy Laurel Hedare. Halle gave it her best but the movie was a bust,  it currently holds a 10% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes and didn't even crack 100 million worldwide.                                                                                          Now comes Anne Hathaway in the part in ' The Dark Knight Rises '. Ms. Hathaway is one attractive actress and she is sexy, slinky Cat, dressed in black through most if not all of the film. The movie doesn't address Selina Kyle's background though there are interesting items if one looks close enough. Newspaper articles are glimpsed about a cat burglar loose in Gotham City. Hathaway's Kitty is hostile towards not only men but the world in general. there is also a whiff of possible girl-girl action as the only character she interacts without hostility is Juno Temple's Jen. Selina/Catwoman is also attracted to Bale's Wayne/Batman though the flirting is on the back burner for much of the film, Hathaway does have the best audience pleasing lines in the film. Overall, I give Ms. Hathaway a strong 8 on the KittyLitter scale.
                                                                                                                          However the gold standard for all things kittenish must go to Michelle Pfeiffer's kitten with a whip in 1992's Batman Returns.                                                                   

Kitten with a whip!

Meow! On the bed with friend

                                         With her mousey, unsure-of-her-self Selina Kyle and alter ego Catwoman, Pfeiffer steals the show from both Michael Keaton's Bat and Danny DeVito's equally twisted Penguin. As torn in half as Batman with a ton more anger and angst, Pfeiffer is by turns sexy, playful and downright furr-ocious. No one before or since has captured that tortured, desperate quality combined with straight up sex that is Catwoman. Not only does she crush the KittyLitter scale she breaks it wide open. My Crush of the week goes back about 20 years: Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman.