A STREET CAT NAMED BOB

James (Luke Treadway, ‘Unbroken’) is a homeless busker in London struggling to stay off heroin and on the methadone program. Seeing something special in him, James’ caseworker Val (Joanne Froggatt, ‘Downton Abbey’) gives him a much-needed second chance and a leg up by placing him in an emergency accommodation flat. With a roof finally over his head and off the streets, James can finally start the road to recovery - but he still has no money to feed himself. One night a stray ginger cat wanders into his flat, and the pair quickly become inseparable. When Bob the cat (played by real-life Bob the cat) tags along on James’ busking trip, Bob prove to be a huge drawcard, and the money comes pouring in. With a few setbacks here and there, James and Bob become local and soon social media celebrities, paving the way for a successful and clean life together.

If this film started with a puppet in a garbage can singing “H is for Heroin”, it may have been a bigger seller. While a very lovely and heartwarming story, it is so disappointingly tame and clean. This man was a heroin addict FFS! He lived on the streets of one of the busiest cities in the world. He could not feed himself and he was saved by a cat! Yet my guess is 90% of the people who walk out of this film will exclaim “How cute was that cat!” Argh!

At the end of the day, this is a true story and it’s a good one - if only the film could have served it better instead of trying to be the next ‘Marley and Me’... with heroin... and a cat instead of dog... and the cat doesn’t die... Whatever! You’re picking up what I’m putting down, yes? The film utilises a lot of cat POV shots showing that the cat’s story is just as important as the human’s. Even the film’s poster features Bob while Treadway’s face is cut off half way because this film isn’t about the recovering addict it’s about the cat that's wearing a scarf! OMG it’s so adorable. I think I’ve made my point.