Starring: Cinders
Directed by: Scott Winant
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Gwen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and Nick (Dylan McDermott) live two separate lives which are continually interacting without their knowledge. Each is seeking true love but will they ever find each other?
Featured Felines: Gwen moves into an old Los Angeles apartment complex called La Fortuna, a hidden paradise where neighbors not only talk to each other but help one another. An elderly neighbor named Harriet (Alice Drummond) owns a black cat named Cinders (played by a cat actor of the same name).
When Gwen moves into her apartment she has her friends helping. Harriet comes over and points out the ginger tabby cat which has entered. She assumes the cat belongs to Gwen, as does everyone else, despite Gwen assuring them the cat does not belong to her. She worries about becoming a stereotypical lonely woman if she has a cat but her friend assures her that as long as she doesn’t own three she is okay.
Gwen’s friend Bob (Reg Rogers) picks up the cat and comments how he’s trembling then looks for a can of tuna to open.
Bob continues to hold the cat throughout the scene, even giving him to Gwen at one point.
Gwen becomes closer with her neighbors, especially Harriet.
At a Christmas party both Cinders and Gwen’s tabby are present.
In a later scene, Gwen’s best friend Debbie (Jennifer Aniston) shows up with a grey tabby cat. Gwen slams the door in her face at first.
When Gwen continues to complain about the cat, Debbie says she will take it away. Gwen holds the cat and agrees that two is better.
Coming home from work one day Gwen notices Cinders sitting alone in the courtyard. She calls the cat but Cinders runs away. When Gwen checks on Harriet she finds the elderly woman has passed away.
After Harriet’s possessions are moved from her apartment, Gwen stops inside to look. She is shocked when Cinders appears, having been left behind.
Gwen gathers Cinders in her arms and promises to take care of him.
The cat actors were provided by Brian McMillan’s Animal Rentals, Inc.
Final Mewsings: Cats should never be left behind.
Many thanks to Nick Wale for letting us know about the cats in this movie.
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