Review: Cat Ladies

Update Sept 8/2011, Check the bottom of the comments for an update on the Cat Ladies. One of the producers of this documentary found this review, and graciously provided an update on the status of the "Cat Ladies."

Cat Ladies
Directed by Christine Callan Jones

Yesterday being a holiday, I took the opportunity of a day off to rent movies with the girlfriend and fold laundry (mine, not hers). One of the films I rented was 'Cat Ladies' a Canadian-made documentary about the lives of four different 'Crazy Cat Women.'

They range from a lonely older woman obsessed with her three cats (this one has collected nearly 1,000 whiskers from a single cat, and calls them 'presents') to another weirdly cold woman in her mid-thirties who seems bitter about the relationships in her life, and has 14 or so cats to fill the void of the relationships she doesn't have. Finally, the last two women both own more than 140 cats and believe themselves to be 'rescuing' lost and abandoned kitties.

This documentary was like watching an hour and a half long video of 'Hoarders,' but presented more objectively, and with far better story telling. It delves not only into the lives of these Cat Ladies, but also what led them to the point they're at, and how they deal both internally and externally with being Cat Ladies.

This documentary makes you want to reach into the TV and shake sense into some of these women, and other times you just sit back in awe at their lifestyle. It's entirely engrossing and makes it so you can't stop watching.

The trailer is posted below, and trust, you're going to be hard pressed not to watch this film after viewing it.






Overall I give Cat Ladies

8.5/10

It's a great documentary! You learn a lot about the people in it, their life stories, and it's presented in a completely objective manner. There's absolutely no spin. At no point does it judge them, nor does it say “These are bad people.” There's obviously something not-quite-right with some of them, others seems to be simply victims of circumstance, and others just can't interact with humans. From the first five minutes in, Cat Ladies has you hooked.

I take points away from it because occasionally it seems like they forgot a couple of segway clips and subsequently some scenes seemed completely out of context. Also, since this documentary just came out last year, it would be nice to see it re-released with some follow-up interviews to see where these people's lives ended up after the documentary.

So go rent Cat Ladies! This is an outstanding piece of Canadian produced film that you have to see to believe.