by Linda Kay
Original Title: Viaggio con Anita (Travels with Anita)
Directed by: Mario Monicelli
This review contains a Kitty Carnage Warning for scruffing!
Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!
Synopsis: Family man Guido (Giancarlo Giannini) learns that his father is dying and, not wishing to travel alone, he decides to pick up a woman he previously had an affair with to accompany him. When she is less than willing to go he agrees to share the trip with her friend, an American girl named Anita (Goldie Hawn), only to find the two of them mix like oil and water.
Featured Feline: Anita surprises Guido by bringing along a seal point Siamese kitten named Tricky which she previously found in the Forum.
When asked if he likes cats, Guido says he doesn’t know yet.
Tricky is present through many of the car scenes, although he is sometimes relegated to the back seat, especially after trying to climb Guido’s leg.
Their trip is temporarily sidelined when they get into an accident. Anita fetches Tricky from the car and is ready to leave but Guido convinces her to continue.
Looking for something to eat, Anita and Tricky enter a hospital kitchen and are snacking when Guido finds them. Guido knocks over a large pile of metal trays, scaring the poor kitten to death and sending him into hiding.
They search for and find the missing kitten. Guido, who has been trying to get together romantically with Anita but in the worst possible ways, asks if they can start again by visiting a nearby island.
On the boat ride to the island, Guido sketches Anita and Tricky.
Tricky is not seen on the island but turns up again when Guido and Anita finally reach his hometown. He has not told her the true purpose of his trip and plans to leave her at a hotel while visiting his family. A near disaster occurs when they realize Tricky is not in the car and turns out to be by one of the vehicle’s tires!
Guido drops off Anita at the hotel then drives home not realizing Tricky is still in the car. Some neighbor kids find the kitten and since he can’t tell them where it came from he encourages them to play with the kitty and not lose him.
The next day as preparations are being made for his father’s funeral (having arrived shortly after his father’s death), Guido is surprised when Anita, who is fed up with waiting for him at the hotel, shows up in the company of a truck driver and demands her kitten. Guido has gone into the neighbor’s house to fetch Tricky and holds the poor kitten by the scruff as he berates Anita for showing up.
Realizing that Guido has been lying to her, Anita asks for a tour of the neighbor’s house which Guido has passed off as his own. Needless to say Guido ends up looking pretty bad when his lying house of cards falls apart.
Purr Blur: While on the island Guido has an encounter with an octopus. A calico cat runs through the scene.
Sadly only somewhat poor copies of this film are available which may be partly due to the fact that overall reviews for the film are not very good. This may be because it appears to be a romantic comedy on the surface but is really more of a dark comedy.
Final Mewsings: Kittens would prefer road trips with people who actually get along.
Many thanks to Wahrhaftig for letting us know about the cat in this film.
Relevant Links:
To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and Twitter.