The only two things I knew about “Caught Stealing” was that the movie poster had a cat, and the catchphrase was “2 Russians, 2 Jews and a Puerto Rican walk into a bar.”
Boy, was I surprised when I watched the film and found out it was about Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), whose punk rock neighbor asks him to babysit his cat. Then, Butler’s character gets caught in the middle of dangerous criminal rivalries he wants no part of — the criminals being the two Russians, two Jews and the Puerto Rican.
It’s safe to say maybe I wasn’t the demographic for this film because I didn’t like how unfunny it was and how much of the plot dragged through repetitive, back-and-forth deaths.
What I liked
I don’t think Butler is an exceptionally great actor, but I did like the underdog storyline he had going. Of course I want the person least likely to survive and outsmart criminals to be the ONLY person that comes out alive.
His character Hank spends most of the film running from his past, but ultimately, it’s confronting that trauma head-on (literally, head-on) that saves his life.
What I enjoy most are the ironic twists like that. Whenever the unexpected happens, my interest goes up instead of drifting into boredom.
And as someone who adores cats, Bud (played by Tonic the cat) was the true star of the film. Without his presence, the story would lack empathy and playfulness, leaving it painfully dull.
Tonic’s looks and presence in intensely violent scenes and his relationship with Hank are the only touches of compassion in the entire film.
What I didn’t like
I found myself drifting off because I would get bored with the plot. Yes, this is a crime/comedy/thriller, but when the entire plot is moving from one death to the next, I couldn’t help but think, “What’s the bigger picture?”
Nothing much happened outside of the many deaths, and while comedy is supposed to be part of this film, I hardly laughed. I desperately wished there were more funny moments with the characters themselves being humorous instead of strictly serious.
For example, each character could’ve had a quirk or something that makes them feel human. But because the plot went from one death to the next, you never had time to get to know any of the characters.
I get this is also a crime/thriller movie, but I’ll be honest, some of these deaths didn’t make sense. With one of the criminal characters, we saw him on screen for about three minutes before his death. Why was he even a character in the film? From a budget point, why waste the money to pay someone for three minutes of screen time when the character could be eliminated?
Despite famous names like Regina King, Vincent D’Onofrio and Liev Schreiber, I wasn’t impressed with anyone’s performance. No one stood out to me because I didn’t get to know their characters outside of them being criminals. There were no driving factors and no why or reason. Just crime.
Additionally, Zoë Kravitz is in practically all the film’s promo, yet she’s on screen for a short amount of time.
And I’ve never been Butler’s biggest fan, but even with the audience getting to see his trauma, I still didn’t feel connected to him.
The verdict
I’m kind of speechless with this film because for the first time in my Big Screen Verdict career, I don’t have that much to say — nothing stood out.
So, I’m rating “Caught Stealing” two out of five stars because it’s the type of movie you’d go see if you’re looking for something that doesn’t require any thought, or if it’s a $5 Tuesday at Megaplex and there’s nothing else to see.
Hey, I’m just glad the cat is one of two characters that survived all the crime and lived to see the end of the movie.
