A Street Cat Named Bob (Film Review)

Honestly, the cat stole the show. A Street Cat Named Bob is a film based on the book of the same name which was written by James Bowen. Though Luke Treadaway plays James Bowen, Bob is played by none other than Bob himself. And Bob is simply ADORABLE.

The title itself, A Street Cat Named Bob, was probably inspired by A Streetcar Named Desire. I'm not too familiar with the story but there's a famous line from the play which goes, "Whoever you are, I have always depended upon the kindness of strangers." We basically see this in the film a lot. The film and book is based on how James managed to overcome drug addiction and lead a fulfilling life thanks to his furry friend. 

When we first see James, he is homeless and pathetic. He carries a backpack and guitar around, struggles to find food and a space to sleep, and gets persuaded by his friend to take drugs in an unlocked car that does not belong to them. He plays his guitar while people just walk by, and the money he scrapes up isn't enough for a meal. Although someone kind leaves him a sandwich, he gets told off at a diner because he was a few pennies short (the waiter even dumps the food into the sink! How wasteful). He doesn't have a good relationship with his father, who sees him busking on the street and hands him some money out of guilt, but his wife quickly drags him away and clearly doesn't want James around for Christmas, thinking that he'll be a bad influence to her two daughters (who are portrayed as spoiled brats. I mean, even if you were allergic to cats, is it necessary to scream when you see one?).

Thankfully, his support worker, Val, believes that he deserves a chance to turn his life around. She puts him on a methadone programme and some sort of supported housing programme. It was in this flat where James finally meets Bob, his life saver. Bob snuck into the kitchen to have some corn flakes, and James is happy to share the meagre amount of food he has with him. Initially, James tries to find out if the cat belongs to anyone living on the estate, but it seemed like it was a stray. He meets Betty, who stays in the same estate, is a vegan and animal lover, and tells James that the cat told her that his name is Bob. When Bob gets injured, James brings him to the vet and pays for the medicine with the money his father had given him.

It is comical to see James trying to feed Bob his medicine and Bob just refusing to do so! And when James releases Bob back on to the street, Bob follows him to the bus stop and even on to the bus. Bob gets a nice view from the window seat and even sits comfortably on his human's shoulder. He goes grocery shopping with his human and sniffs the canned food to express his approval or disapproval.  They even have a routine in the morning: James would get up to brush his teeth, Bob would abandon his food bowl to watch James do human things in the toilet, and the rat seizes the opportunity to eat Bob's food. SO CUTE. Bob is an instant hit and he draws crowds as James strums his guitar and sings in Covent Garden. He makes his human famous and they appear on an article in the newspaper.

While some strangers are absolutely delighted to see the cat (one lady even knits Bobs a cute little scarf and gives him some cat food), others still treat James and Bob like dirt. An idiotic dog owner makes his dog pee on James's guitar case as he is busking. The crowd went into a rage and because of this incident, James was banned from busking for a few months. This shows how cruel and unjust society can be. It wasn't even James's fault, and the dog owner got away without punishment. (Sounds all too familiar. It's just Mailbox cat all over again!)

Obviously this meant that James would not have any form of income, so he decides to make some money by selling The Big Issue. There's a rule whereby sellers have to stick to their own areas or marked out zones to sell the street newspaper, but a fan of Bob's forcefully grabs a magazine from James and gives him the money when James was just walking (and not selling!) outside his specified zone. Another seller saw what happened and reported James, who had to starve for a while because he was not allowed to sell the magazine and thus had no source of income. (Bob had to starve as well and meowed pitifully at home) And another horrible incident happened with a stranger: a presumably rich woman drops by to see James and Bob selling the magazines with her son, and offers to take the cat off his hands, claiming that she could provide for Bob in a way that James couldn't possibly dream of. What a nerve!

Towards the end of the movie, James decides that it's time to kick the habit once and for all. He goes cold turkey and Bob just... stares. There's nothing much Bob can do but cats are not dumb. Bob probably knew something horrible was happening to his human and just tried his best to watch over James. It's already amazing enough for Bob not to leave James's side. Bob would also willingly give strangers hi-fives even without the use of expensive treats. (My cat only gives hi-fives when there's food in my hand, and she glares at me for sneezing loudly. Yet the community cat in my estate would rub itself against my legs and sit on my lap, especially when I'm on my period. Maybe street cats are just more affectionate.)

Later, James is contacted by people from a publishing company who want him to pen down his journey (with help, of course). Betty moves away but stays in touch with James, as she is seen at the bookstore where James and Bob conducted a book signing session. The lady who gave Bob his first scarf was there, and so was James's father (there was a scene where James visited his father for the second time, after the disastrous encounter during Christmas, and they made up. Aww). The movie ends with James singing "Satellite Moments" and getting the crowd to sing along.

There's no particular grand moment or a climatic scene in this film, but that is what makes A Street Cat Named Bob a realistic movie. It definitely isn't cliche -- there is no 'happily ever after' between Betty and James since that isn't the focus of the story (you can watch cheesy romcoms for that sort of thing). It's about James and Bob's journey together. How often do you see a cat bonding with a homeless man who's trying to get over his heroin addiction? And despite the fact that James was having trouble providing for himself, he took the trouble to provide for another living creature, which plenty of people wouldn't have done, even if they were wealthy enough to do so.

In addition, Bob is extremely well-trained. Bob was going to have 10 ginger cats as stunt doubles, but he proved that he was better than everyone else, and the extra cats weren't really needed. There are plenty of films which feature pets as the main characters. I can think of so many movies about dogs: 10 Promises to My Dog, Hachiko, and Marley & Me. But dogs are easy to train. Another cat I can think of that I've seen in movies is Orangey, the ginger cat that appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany's. This comparison isn't fair though; Orangey was an animal actor, trained by his human who's an animal handler. Even Homeward Bound made use of multiple dogs and cats for each animal character. 

The film essentially shows how terribly kind and how terribly mean people can be to one another. As a human and cat who live on the streets, James and Bob have probably seen all kinds of people. It is easy for others to despise the homeless, but that's because they have proper social support structures in their lives that they have taken for granted. In the film, James has to search for some kind of support: from Val, Betty, and Bob, from all the strangers who watch him sing, and from organisations like the Soup Kitchen and The Big Issue. Bob has to do the same too: he found James, who in turn found him an animal clinic and strangers who completely adore him, instead of possibly throwing things at him and calling him a stinky alleycat.

The big issue (pun intended) here is that society isn't doing enough for people like James. Sure, there are some charities that try to help. But is it so hard to just forgo nine pence, or to just keep your dog on a leash? Is it so difficult to give others a chance? In the film, people at the bottom rung of society are constantly competing with James; Val puts her neck on the line for James, and sellers of The Big Issue feel that it is unfair for James to snatch their business. And it isn't their fault; they behave in such a manner due to society's attitude towards people they deem unworthy of their time.

People who live on the streets are dehumanised and stigmatised. Yet with Bob, people are able to relate to James and approach him in a friendlier manner. Although the film sends a hopeful message, it reminds us of what would have happened if not for Bob and people like Val. Baz, James's friend and fellow drug addict, comes begging for money. James gives him some but makes him promise that it's for food, not drugs. When James comes back at night, he and Bob finds Baz lying on the ground, dead due to an overdose.