Tomcats (2001)

Sick Product of a Sick System

One of my all time favorites.

Lack of good storyline.

It is a performances centric movie

After being groomsmen, a group of friends make a bet to see the last single man standing win a pot of cash. The prize has grown to almost half a million dollars. Michael Delaney (Jerry O'Connell) is a commitment phobic womanizer. While in Vegas with his friends, he gets into $51k gambling debt trying to impress a woman. Then he's desperate to marry off the final bachelor Kyle Brenner (Jake Busey) to his lost dreamgirl Natalie Parker (Shannon Elizabeth) within a month. She's an undercover vice cop. She agrees to do it for revenge and half of the money. Meanwhile his friend Steve (Horatio Sanz) is concerned that his wife Tricia (Jaime Pressly) may be having a lesbian affair.Jerry O'Connell has never been a comedic lead to me. He's more of an idiot sidekick like Horatio Sanz. Although I don't think the material is funny even if the movie has a different lead. Jerry is perfectly fine as a womanizer because the audience don't find him threatening and he's laughable. It's loud and obnoxious which is the hallmark of Jerry. The comedy is more awkward than funny.

Crude, juvenile, sexist, sure, but the cast is obviously having fun, and it translates to plenty of chuckles, laughs, and one or two absolutely hilarious situations. Jake Busey plays an ego-eccentric Don Juan to perfection. Uncredited appearances by Gary Marshall and Bill Mahr were unexpected surprises. The marriage bet scenario offers plenty of opportunities for ridiculous situations, and plays out to a satisfying conclusion. If you enjoy comedies like "Buying the Cow", "Sorority Boys", or "Strange Wilderness", this is your movie. Another bonus is that this film actually gets better with multiple viewings. Great comedy. - MERK

Firstly, I may well be slightly biased- because I really truly enjoyed this movie. However, seeing it with a score under 5- and then looking at the reviews, there is a notable trend. The good reviews are predominantly well punctuated and articulate, with such things as (gasp) accurate spelling and grammar. Conversely, most of the bad reviews tend to be short blurbs with not a capital letter to be found.My take on this: Despite being a dumb comedy, Tomcats is to nuanced for the average consumer of dumb comedy. So, it's a smart-dumb comedy. The timing of jokes is impeccable, the pace is excellent, and the actual material is above average- with some of it even fresh! This leaves it in a bad place for reviews though- because it means a small segment of people love it, while big segments of the population (the pretentious smart and the uncultured dumb, we'll call them) will always pan this movie. So, if you're smarter than the average bear- but still appreciate dumb comedy romps, go for it- this one is a keeper.

Here's the spoiler: At the end of the movie, a little piece of you dies. You'll spend the rest of your life searching in vain for that missing piece, but it's gone, it's gone. You'll wander the streets at night peering into your neighbors' windows as they sit down for dinner. Friends and family will try to pinpoint when exactly you turned into the walking dead. You'll answer their questions and concerns with a blank stare and some mumblings about a runaway testicle. When AMC inevitably makes Tomcats the "movie of the month," a series of mysterious murders will take place in your city. You'll wake up the next morning balled up on the floor of the kitchen with a faint taste of brains in your mouth. Then you'll crawl into the living room and onto the couch. You'll stare at the wall, wet yourself a little and then begin to laugh maniacally. Because once your dead inside, Jake Busey in a thong is actually pretty damn funny.