“Cat in the Hat” live action starring Mike Meyers as the cat, is one of the most influential fever-dream movies among teens. A movie with a fun spin on the famous cat in the hat book by Dr. Seuss, the jokes and the visuals are something unforgettable, no matter the age of the audience. 

            With a score of 10% on Rotten Tomatoes, people aren’t really a fan of this movie. This is highly confusing to me, because I grew up watching this movie. Every time I watch it–even now–I laugh at almost every single joke. Yet with a recent watch of the movie, with my childhood love lenses off, I realize what other people see when watching the movie. 

     The movie begins with two kids, Conrad, and Sally who are brother and sister. Conrad is a trouble-maker and a rule breaker, while Sally is a hard-working and zero-tolerance type of person. Completely opposite of each other, a stressed out mother, Joan, is trying her best to keep the house clean before her work party is set to be hosted at their house. Although a single mother, a boyfriend who happens to live next door tries to help. However, his idea of help is sending Joan’s son Conrad off to military school while he gets Joan to himself. With all of this added stress, strain is put on the relationship between this mother and son. With a business party happening at the house later in the day, the mom can’t stay home and watch her kids, as she needs to get back to work. While the children are home alone with their babysitter, Mrs. Quan, they hear a giant thump and decide to check it out. The Cat then introduces himself to the kids, with the help of a musical number. We also get to meet the last character of this movie, the Fish, who struggles to be the voice of reason in this insane situation with the kids and the cat. 

         Throughout the course of the movie, the kids start to learn that it’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how. Through adventures against time, and a crate of crazy fun opening up to a portal into a world of fun we won’t ever understand, the development and overall insaneness of the movie pulls together a story that is fun to follow along despite how nothing makes sense. 

      Although I realize now why people might hate this movie, I love the chaoticness of it all and the memories that go along with it. It’s funny because it doesn’t make sense, and that’s what makes this movie unique. This movie may be a mess, but it’s a mess that I would watch again a million times over. 

        Character development is prominent and overall line and delivery is perfect as well. This movie holds a special place in my heart, and an even more profound place in my sense of humor. It’s kind of cringy to say, but this movie has literally changed my life.