A Review of the Bleak and Disturbing 'The Garfield Movie'

By Dustin Rowles | Film | May 28, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | Film | May 28, 2024 |

[Spoilers]

In the neverending nightmare that is The Garfield Movie, Chris Pratt’s egregious miscasting as the iconic comic-strip cat is just the tip of the iceberg. We learn that Garfield was taken home as a kitten by Jon (Nicholas Hoult), who found him abandoned outside his favorite Italian restaurant. But the truth is far more unsettling. Garfield’s estranged father, Vic (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), is no deadbeat. He was merely trying to scrounge up a meager meal for his son when Garfield, impatient and hungry, feasted upon the food of the gullible and easily manipulated Jon before settling into a box of his take-home lasagna, unwittingly severing the bond with his father, a mostly new creation for the movie.

Years later, Garfield and his canine sidekick, Odie (Harvey Guillén), are kidnapped by the mangy henchmen Nolan (Bowen Yang) and Roland (Brett Goldstein) under orders from their ruthless queenpin, Jinx (Hannah Waddingham). Vic’s attempt to rescue Garfield is met with resentment, however, as the scars of abandonment run deep.

But Garfield is merely a pawn in Jinx’s twisted game. Vic owes her a debt because of a botched job for which she took the fall, and failure to deliver a milk truck will result in a grisly end for all three. The milk truck heist leads them to a barnyard, where they meet Otto (Ving Rhames), a despondent bull violently torn from his beloved Marge (Cecily Strong), who endures the torment of a petting zoo. Otto’s sole reason for living is the fleeting daily glimpse of Marge, a cruel reminder of the family he’s lost.

Desperate, Otto joins the heist in exchange for help reuniting with Marge. Garfield narrowly escapes gruesome fates, from being grated alive to boiling in a fondue pot. In the end, Vic secures the milk truck, but at the cost of Odie and Garfield’s freedom.

Privilege saves Garfield from the pound while less fortunate strays rot behind bars. Garfield, however, is so enraged by Vic’s apparent betrayal that he fails to see the sacrifice his father made to keep him safe.

Jinx, fueled by a thirst for revenge, cares not for milk but for the years stolen from her. Vic’s failure to be captured forces her hand, and she resorts to a murderous plot involving a bridge and a moving train. Garfield, realizing the truth of his father’s love, rushes to save him, only to be ensnared in the plot. In a surreal twist, a drone army bearing pizza and lasagna descends upon the train, a deus ex machina born of gluttony.

This bleak tale offers a scathing commentary on the divide between the privileged and the destitute. Pratt’s uncharacteristically cheerful Garfield is a jarring contrast to the morose, sarcastic feline of the comics, a calculated ploy to appease young audiences. But the film’s real message is one of social inequality, where the fortunate feast while the less so struggle to survive, never knowing where they’ll find their next meal.

In the end, only Vic finds a new home with Jon, his newfound wealth a balm for past wounds. But for Jinx, Roland, Nolan, and Snickers — Angus McCloud’s fitting final role — life remains a bleak cycle of desperation and crime, their good deeds forever unrewarded in a world that cares little for their plight.

The Garfield Movie is currently in theaters. It is inexplicably rated PG.