20th Century Women (2016)

by Linda Kay

Starring: Tails

Directed by: Mike Mills

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) is a teenaged boy being raised in the 1970’s by his middle-aged mother Dorothea (Annette Bening) who worries about his being brought up without a father figure. She calls on her boarding house resident Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a young woman dealing with the after effects of cervical cancer, and Jamie’s childhood friend Julie (Elle Fanning), to help offer guidance to her boy.

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): While having no specific part in the plot, Dorothea does own a cat named Jeeves who is present in several scenes throughout the film. The name is clearly a reference to the fact the cat is a tuxedo.

20th Century Women - Jamie Lucas Jade Zumann Dorothea Annette Bening and tuxedo cat Jeeves Tails on couch

20th Century Women - Dorothea Annette Bening and tuxedo cat Jeeves Tails on bed

One night while waiting up late for Jamie to come home, Dorothea and Jeeves are sitting on her bed. When they hear him enter the house, Dorothea sighs, “It’s okay, Jeeves, he’s back. You can relax now.”

Jeeves turns up several more times after this.

20th Century Women - tuxedo cat Jeeves Tails on kitchen table

20th Century Women - Dorothea Annette Bening and tuxedo cat Jeeves Tails on kitchen table

Kitty Cameo: There is also a brief shot of a photograph which includes a calico cat.

20th Century Women - black and white photograph of woman with calico cat

Jeeves was played by cat actor Tails. The animal wranglers on the film included Sheri Aparicio, Ursula Brauner, Tracy Kelly, Tasha Zamsky. The Animal Monitor was Shanise Burney-Farr.