This week’s column was going to be my review of “Captain Marvel.” After sitting down and working on giving a brief background and going through the skeletal plot points, I sighed deeply and deleted it.
Reviews require minute details that inform or bore the reader and set up the story for the alley-up of your opinion’s slamdunk or rejection.
My review would have been neither, honestly. It would have been obsolete. All in all, I would have said, “Eh, yeah it’s fine, kinda fun (and forgettable).” So, I am not going to waste our time talking about how the story was incoherent, how they ruined an entire alien race and how Brie Larson has not been in a good movie since “Room.”
I will add, however, that I was entertained, and I didn’t mind it for what it was.
There was, on the other hand, an orange tabby cat in the film by the name of Goose. No spoilers, but Goose was much more than your typical domesticated feline. Seeing Goose reminded me of another character in a short film I also viewed last week. This particular character happened to also be a cat, starring alongside Carly Rae Jepsen in her music video of one of her newest singles, “Now That I Found You.”
The video opens on a rainy lot with a dumpster situated behind a building. Carly steps into the lot where her Abarth is parked by itself next to the dumpsters. Originally, I thought the Abarth was a Porche, as the camera briefly pulls onto the logo on the front of the car, but after a quick pause, I see it says “Abarth” and displays a scorpion on the logo.
After a snappy search, I soon realize that Abarth is an Italian sports car owned by Fiat. This goes to show that product placements actually may just work. Carly’s label probably had to pay very little for the video, due to Fiat forking out those big bucks. She may have even gotten a brand-new car out of it.
Moving on, Carly approaches the car and starts to get in, until she hears a faint “meow” to her left. If you would like an impression of this particular sound, I would happily oblige, although my fiance finds it distasteful and rather annoying, which is ironic considering she adores cats and I am allergic to them.
After hearing the sweet cry for help, Jepsen concerningly walks towards the sound, due to the warm-hearted popstar she is. A tabby cat, our lead, is sitting in an upright box on a pile of newspapers as if it was a scene straight out of a movie. Carly smiles, and we transition to the next morning where Carly peruses her big-city apartment. Cue remix vocals of a smash single’s chorus.
Next to Carly is our orange furball. Upon rolling over toward her new kitty, Carly breaks into the first verse of “Now That I Found You.” The song is a blissful, romantic track fueled by the feelings of finding new love. It’s a honeymoon phase tune textured lightly with synths, paired beautifully with Jepsen’s dreamy vocals. Each verse slowly builds up to the anthemic chorus with its drum patterns and vocal melodies like a flower in bloom.
“Don’t give it up, don’t say it hurts, ‘cause there’s nothing like this feeling, baby, now that I found you,” Jepsen belts to our little cat buddy. The song encompasses the raw emotions of a newfound bond, built upon the neverending thread of love. In the next few shots, we see them spending time together.
While taking a shower, Carly goes as far as to cut a hole in the curtain to be able to keep an eye on Cat while he chills on the toilet. They catch each other’s gazes while dancing around the kitchen, eating cereal and sipping on some milk.
We see Jepsen’s true potential as an artist as wonder at her painting a portrait of herself and Cat, which displays her with Cat sitting upright in her lap. The impressive part is that she isn’t looking in a mirror, nor did she have a photo readily available for reference. She is so familiar with herself she can paint from memory.
In the next scene, we see a romantic candlelight dinner of kitty treats, beef sticks and yet another creative product placement — this time with hip, young person app, TikTok, where she makes our furry friend have big teeth and places a crown upon his little head.
Per usual, when TikTok gets involved, things start getting weird fast.
Slow pan toward the painting that now has quite a few more cats placed in it. Cut to a scene that quickly confirms our deep suspicions. Carly has cat fever.
Yes, our pop queen is lying in bed singing to a pride of cats, scattered throughout the room. As the song progresses through the verse, the number of cats grows and Carly starts to dress in cat-themed apparel. She is dancing in the kitchen, yet again, but with 10 times the number of cats and sporting a two-piece cat leotard that says “meow” on the tummy; her matching white Beats by Dre drape around her neck.
While it’s a cute outfit, Carly seems a little off her rocker. It’s apparent later the cause of this delusional state is due to a little too much catnip.
She wakes the next morning with no cats to greet her. Cat has disappeared. Carly returns to the lot and it is raining again. Side note: she is wearing the same outfit as before, so now I’m wondering how much our friends at Abarth actually contributed to this music video.
The scene is reminiscent of the final scene of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” as is much of the video; I would dare call it an homage. Carly cries out for Cat and finds his box home empty. As she slowly turns, she sees a handsome geeky, cat boy standing in a cat sweater holding our beloved cat, under a blue umbrella.
This is the moment we have been waiting for. Cat’s magic or coincidental powers have brought two people together. I would go far as to say they found each other. To clarify, I am unsure whether the entire ordeal with the cat was a dream or only slightly a dream mixed in with a smidge of reality.
Overall, the whole video is very Lynchian. Carly and her team have done it yet again, and you better believe I will take my time to give some background to review her inevitable new album.
If you are looking for a fun-filled blockbuster starring fun blondes and silly kitties, you could go see Captain Marvel or watch the “Now That I Found You” video — out of the comfort of your own home, as many times as you want.
