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Bennett wrote on 05/15/2006:

Long ago I found by happenstance the sweet and charmingly amusing novel by James Kirkwood upon which the screenplay for this film is based. i took it to a Broadway producer friend who turned it into the delightful production mentioned in the previous review. It was quite daring for its time and despite the sad death of Sal Mineo just before its San Francisco opening,it did quiie well.
I cannot say the same for this (at least for me) long awaited movie version. I found it quite awful. Do yourself a favor and read James Kirkwood's delicious laugh-out-loud novel instead. You'll be glad you did.

Jed (jedstarny@aol.com) wrote on 01/21/2003:

James Kirkwood's 1972 cult novel "P.S. Your Cat is Dead" is indeed a far-out choice of a story to enjoy resurrection in 2003, and it certainly was an interesting project for actor Steve Guttenberg ("Police Academy", "Can't Stop the Music") to choose for his directorial debut. The book was adapted into a successful stage play in 1975, with the late great Sal Mineo ("Rebel Without a Cause") starring in the San Francisco production as the bisexual cat burglar Vito. At that time, the inclusion of a main character in a play who was unapologetically gay or bisexual was considered "daring". Today, aside from any residual shock value in terms of the characters' sexuality, what endures in "PS. Your Cat is Dead" is a twisted, funny, and ultimately emotional story of two troubled men: Jimmy Zoole, a frustrated, unsuccessful actor/writer (Steve Guttenberg); and a bisexual Latino burglar (renamed Eddie, played by Lombardo Boyar). Thanks to an updating of the setting to contemporary L.A., and a successful translation from stage to screen, "P.S. Your Cat is Dead" emerges as the most unique tale of male bondage-- uh... I mean, bond-ING-- to emerge since Brad Pitt and Edward Norton beat the sh*t out of each other in 1999's "Fight Club".

In "P.S. Your Cat is Dead", we meet our two leads as well as other quirky characters throughout the course of New Year's Eve. Steve Guttenberg is just perfect as the scruffy, pushing-40, so-pathetic-it's-funny artist Jimmy, who-- to put it mildly-- isn't looking back at the past year with too many fond memories. His girlfriend Kate is leaving him for another man. His apartment has been burglarized twice, and one of the items stolen was his only handwrtitten copy of his long-gestating book-in-progress. His attempt at 'avant garde' ("That's French for 'can't sell tickets'!", he bemoans.) theater-- specifically, a production of "Hamlet" with puppets-- has failed miserably. To top it off, his beloved cat Tennessee is at the animal hospital, gravely ill. After his ex-girlfriend storms out of his apartment following a humorously nasty fight, Jimmy discovers that a 20-something burglar (Lombardo Boyar) has broken into his home and is hiding under his bed. But Eddie the burglar-- who's also a hustler and performance artist with some serious emotional issues-- is in for a challenge. The fed-up Jimmy progresses from initial discontent to full-blown hysteria... and some mild sadistic traits come out as well! He knocks Eddie unconscious, hog-ties his home invader to the kitchen table, and at one point cuts the seat out of Eddie's pants. As the tense night progresses, the two men play assorted psychological games with each other, with a bare-assed Eddie trying to push Jimmy's buttons (at one point, by gay-baiting him), and Jimmy taunting his prisoner (at one point, by feeding him cat food!). The last draw comes when Jimmy discovers a note left by his Kate which bears the movie's titular bad news: "PS. Your cat is dead." Needless to say, this nearly pushes our frazzled underdog over the edge.

The dynamics between Guttenberg and Boyar help us forget that in "P.S. Your Cat is Dead", we're watching what's essentially a two-character play-- with one of the characters spending most of the time face down, tied up on a kitchen table. Filmed plays, as we all know, don't always work; the effect can be claustrophobic and stagy. (Remember 1996's "Faithful" with a tied-up Cher?). However, in "P.S. Your Cat is Dead", a few unique directorial touches and some surprises keep the movie going. One of the surprises comes when a trio of gay roughnecks drop by Jimmy's apartment and mistakenly interpret the kitchen table scene as a bondage party. Strapping A.J.Benza plays Jimmy's hypersexed friend Carmine-- sort of a gay, ultra-flamboyant (makeup and all!) version of the thuggish persona that Benza displays as host of the E! "Mysteries and Scandals" TV show. His character is definitely NOT the kind of guy you'd want to meet at a club if you'd had too much to drink... or maybe he is!

By the end of "P.S.Your Cat is Dead", both Jimmy and Eddie have undergone some level of catharsis, and the ending-- dare I say it-- is surprisingly sweet. But rest assured: Until you reach that point, there will be plenty of hysterics, tension, scenery chewing, and black comedy to enjoy! In what might be a cinematic first, Guttenberg runs the closing credits of "P.S. Your Cat is Dead" with video footage of the movie's entire crew... and he throws in the well-chosen song "Crystal Blue Persuasion" by Culture Club.

Looking forward to Steve Guttenberg's next directorial project!