Starring: Bebe

Directed by: Peter Farrelly

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

Synopsis: Tony Lipp (Viggo Mortensen) is a New York City bouncer who takes a job as a driver for classical pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) on a tour of the Southern United States.

Purr Blur: As they arrive in Louisville, Kentucky, Dr. Shirley is forced to stay at a “colored” hotel. As they pull into the parking lot, a grey and white tabby cat is sitting on top of a Coke machine.

As they exit the car and look around in disbelief, the cat jumps down off the machine and walks away.

Behind the Scenes

It isn’t every day we get to share a Behind the Scenes story about a Purr Blur, so we were thrilled when we received a message from Nicole Lynn, the former manager of the Aloha Hotel where the above scene was filmed, who let us know that it was her cat Bebe who appeared in this movie.

Bebe was actually the Aloha Motel’s resident cat and was born on the premises and grew up there. Nicole said that when the film crew came Bebe treated them the same as any other guests, refusing to move from his favorite spot. So the film crew included Bebe in the scene. Bebe didn’t even need directing; he just jumped down from the Coke machine and sauntered off on his own.

When the hotel was demolished in mid-2020, everyone wanted to know what was going to happen to the “Aloha Cat.” “That same day I decided to adopt him since he was the sweetest boy and his home was being taken away from him,” Nicole explained. “I knew he would be afraid and abandoned so I adopted him before it was totally vacated and he is the love of my life!”

Nicole even sent us some pictures of her precious Bebe. “Pay close attention to his white chest,” she noted, “and it’s hard to see in the movie but his left ear is clipped very short as well.”

It’s easy to understand Nicole’s attachment to Bebe, who is very lucky to have found such a loving guardian. And the feeling is clearly mutual. “Bebe is an amazing cat and the best boy and I’m so lucky to be his mom,” Nicole told us. “He’s my movie star!”

Final Mewsings: Cats don’t mind product placement.

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