“Tom & Jerry” introduces our famous cat and mouse duo as Tom is attempting to earn money playing piano in Central Park in New York. Jerry interferes with the act and comic hilarity is supposed to ensue. It would ensue if writer Kevin Costello weren’t more concerned with a far less interesting human story involving Kayla (Chloe Grace-Moritz), a young gig worker who cons her way into a hotel position to help with a celebrity wedding. She does so by stealing another woman’s resume, thus ensuring Kayla’s place as one of the most heartwarming protagonists in recent memory (insert sarcasm here). She draws the ire of hotel event planner Terence (Michael Pena, in as fine a form as you can be in a train wreck like this) who instantly tries to find ways to get Kayla fired.
Enter Jerry, who wants to make the hotel his permanent home. Of course the presence of a mouse in such an establishment would be a catastrophe (much like this movie, heh) so Kayla, along with helping plan a celebrity wedding (Colin Jost and Pallavi Sharda), comes up with a plan to hire Tom to get rid of the mouse. Needless to say, things don’t go as planned.
This film is so off from a tonal standpoint that I don’t know where to begin. First of all they combine live action with cartoons (other than Tom & Jerry) without rhyme or reason. (A fish market full of cartoon fish? Really?) The animation is quite good but wasted in Costello’s weak script. The madcap mayhem is present when Tom and Jerry go at it but it seems out of place amidst the human element. The actors are not funny and the jokes fall flatter than fifty-cent pancakes. (There is one good gag involving Droopy at the pound in a Hannibal Lecter mask, but that’s about it.)
Of course the film try’s to get sentimental in the third act but since we don’t care about the characters or the story, the sentiment is unearned. And what’s with the rapping pigeons? This may be my age talking but the musical selection makes Jerry seem like a wannabe pimp. Playing a Tribe Called Quest over the opening credits would be a nice touch if it made any sense. The music is all over the place, from jazz to rap (lots and lots of rap) to a couple of classic flourishes from the old cartoon.
Let’s face it: Tom & Jerry works best in the world of madcap animated shorts. If you’re going to feature them in a full length movie, this is probably the worst way to go about it. Too many uninteresting human characters and not enough of the characters in the title. To quote Ian Malcom from “Jurassic Park,” “You do plan to have Tom and Jerry in your Tom and Jerry cartoon, right?” Just a colossal misfire on all levels. 1 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!
