Fritz the Cat (1972)

Fritz the Cat: Directed by Ralph Bakshi. With Skip Hinnant, Rosetta LeNoire, John McCurry, Judy Engles. A hypocritical swinging college student cat raises hell in a satiric vision of various elements on the 1960s.

“Ralph Bakshiu0026#39;s FRITZ THE CAT was one of the most controversial films of that last golden age of filmmaking, the 1970u0026#39;s. Based on Robert Crumbu0026#39;s groundbreaking underground comic, the film was the first of itsu0026#39; kind to receive an X rating from the MPAA. In those days, an X rating was NOT a kiss of death at the box office and audiences flocked, making this a smash hit. Watching this 30 years later, I canu0026#39;t imagine what the fuss was about.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003ePerhaps it is my handicap that I have read the comics. I cannot see this film in any other light. Bakshi has taken Fritz-an oversexed, cool and hip character-and transplanted him into a story so sour, dark, pointless and hopelessly dated that watching this film becomes a chore. There are some moments that suggest the spirit of Crumb, but they are over much too soon.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enBakshi tries to paint a portrait of 60u0026#39;s America and what was wrong with it. Some of it does hit home- particularly the unrest between African-Americans and the police. But Bakshi never settles on the right tone for his film. Is it a raunchy sex comedy or a biting political drama? It doesnu0026#39;t succeed on either level.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCertainly not as a raunchy sex comedy. For an X rated movie, this is very mild. If you are looking for any kind of raunchy, erotic experience, you might as well go on. Whatever sex scenes this movie has doesnu0026#39;t last long and is mostly disturbing and joyless. There is a plethora of street language and drug use in FRITZ THE CAT. I have nothing against strong language or drug use in a film. Films like REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, PULP FICTION, PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK and PERMANENT MIDNIGHT use it to give us insights into their characters. But in FRITZ, it is used to merely shock. Thatu0026#39;s not good enough.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA friend of mine on the DVD Verdict site said in his review that u0026quot;I donu0026#39;t advise the use of narcotics, but I think I can safely say that FRITZ THE CAT probably works better if youu0026#39;re high on some kind of illegal drugu0026quot; I certainly agree with that. I donu0026#39;t condone drug use either, but most certainly the only way any satisfaction can be gleaned from FRITZ THE CAT is from being stoned out of your mind.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e*1/2 out of **** stars”