Classic Rant #427 (January 20, 2011): Catwoman Gets My Goat

It was announced yesterday that Anne Hathaway will get to play Selena Kyle--the alter-ego of villainess Catwoman--in the upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises" Batman film.

I really don't like Anne Hathaway. Sure, she is a really pretty girl. But I remember what she did with the "99" character in the absolutely horrid "Get Smart" film--I know that she will trash the Catwoman role too.

Oh, give me the days when first, Julie Newmar, and second, Eartha Kitt, played Catwoman to the hilt on the old "Batman" TV show. They truly understood the character--her femininity and her viciousness, all rolled into one pretty package.

Lee Meriwether kind of fit the fill, too, in the original "Batman" big-screen film, and I guess that Michelle Pfeiffer fit it too--well, at least in her costume--in "Batman Returns."

Then we had Halle Berry. Sure, she has a great body--the best body of all the Catwomen--but what was her "Catwoman" movie really about--that body or the character?

Now we have Hathaway, one of the most over-rated actresses of this generation, taking on this role.

It is a complex one, and one that I feel is way beyond her abilities to handle. Of course, good writing will help, but sorry, I don't think Hathaway has it in her.

The Catwoman character has to have that mix of vulnerability and viciousness that certainly Newmar and Kitt completely understood. She has to snarl at the same time that she slinks.

Can Hathaway do it? Based on her performance in "Get Smart," no, sorry, I don't think so. She didn't get that character, and I don't think she will get this one either.

Who do I think should play Catwoman?

The choice is an obvious one.

Angelina Jolie would have the role of Catwoman in the palm of her hand. She has the looks, the brains, and the talent to handle such a role.

Would she do it? I don't know, but Hathaway can't hold a candle to her.

So I say go for "Tomb Raider" over "99."

You can't go wrong.

It's the "purr-fect" choice.