Want to watch an enjoyable movie with terrific acting, likable characters, and a sweet message? Give Looking For Kitty a try. This movie was written and directed by Edward Burns, who also plays one of the two leads. I've enjoyed seeing Burns in other movies, now I'm equally impressed with his work behind the camera.

The Plot

Abe (a barely recognizable David Krumholtz, looking absolutely nothing like the way he looks now, in Numb3rs) is a high-school baseball couch from upstate New York. His wife (Kitty) grew tired of their small-town lifestyle, and ran off with a rock star. Abe's been looking for her, and now he finds out she's somewhere in New York City. Thus the small-town couch finds himself in the Big City. Looking and feeling like a little kid lost in an amusement park, Abe hires private investigator Jack Stanton (Burns) to help him find his wife.

Jack is also a bit of a lost soul. His wife died some time ago, and he's been unable to move on. Together, Jack and Abe search for Kitty. Along the way, their friendship grows and each helps the other to come to terms with their situations, and move on.

Good Stuff

The characters and their growing friendship were a joy to watch. Both men have interesting "quirks" in their personalities. While neither really knows what to make of the other, they both allow the other to be themselves. Neither feels like they have to hide who they really are, both know they won't be judged. And, in fact, each ends up helping the other. Thus their growing friendship has a very "real" quality to it. You get the feeling that it's genuine and will last far beyond this assignment.

There's quite a bit of humor in this movie. Mostly in the way these two slightly odd men play off each other. There's also the superintendent at Jack's building (Kevin Kash). He sees these two men becoming buddies, and desperately wants to be a part of their "in group". It's funny to watch him, on the outside, trying so hard to be on the inside.

Rachel Dratch brings some humor to the story as well. She's a ditzy gal, staying in the same hotel as Abe, and makes it clear that she'd like to get to know him a bit better. Of course, he's way too busy looking for his wife to pay her any real attention, but he doesn't want to be rude, either. The conversations between them are very cute.

The scenery is pure New York City, but shown through Director Burns' eyes, there's a beauty there that is frequently overlooked. In fact, Jack loves the city and along the way teaches Abe about its history and architecture. One gets the feeling that Edward Burns, himself, is a fan of the city, and wanted to show its history in a rich, glorious light.

The devotion both men feel towards their wives is beautiful. Though misguided, perhaps, in Abe's case, we understand his motives. He loves her. It's as simple as that. And even though he knows that she left on her own, that she doesn't want to be found, he still holds out a glimmer of hope, that she's simply "confused" right now, and will come back to him. Like I said, perhaps a bit misguided, but sweet nonetheless. In Jack's case, we see him continuing to wear his wedding band, and mourn his wife. He still talks to her, and brings flowers to her grave. His deep devotion to her is wonderful to watch.

So what was missing?

Well, this movie isn't perfect. There's a lot left out that would have made the story a bit more meaningful. For instance, we know nothing about Jack's wife, except that she's dead. We don't know how she died. We don't even know if her death was recent or long ago. It seems they purposely didn't let us know when her death was. Perhaps they wanted to show us that Jack's grief knows no time limits. But, to me, it would have made a difference in how I felt, about his ability (or lack thereof) to move on. His attractive neighbor, Marcie (Connie Britton) lets him know she's quite available for "friendship" but without a true sense of his wife's death, we don't know whether to root for them as a couple, or not.

But the role of Kitty (played by Ari Meyers) was the big disappointment. Throughout the movie, we hear about her through Abe so that we get to know her a little bit. And, frankly, we don't like her at all. We know she walked out on her husband, we know she made no effort to work things out before she took off, and now we know that she purposely avoids him when he's trying so desperately just to find her, and make sure she's OK. When we finally get to meet her, for one very brief scene towards the end, nothing happens to change my opinion. I still don't understand her, and I still don't like her. The movie would have been a bit more balanced if we could have seen some tenderness in her, some likable quality, something that would have made us understand why Abe held on for so long. Instead, we're left actually rooting for Abe to move on. It's sad, in my opinion to root for a couple to break up. But without any reason to care about Kitty, that's what happens.

Overall

This is a very enjoyable movie. It's rated R, but darned if I can tell you why. There was no nudity, no violence, and if any bad words were spoken, I sure don't remember them. On the other hand, I don't think kids will enjoy this one, as it's really an adult character study. So watch this one when it's just adults in the room. Sit back, and enjoy it.

Recommended:
Yes