GARFIELD

A friend of mine testifies (yes, in my Friendster page - where else?) that I have a huge passion for cats. I'm not denying it. Freud might have associated it to my constant Garfield reading. No offense to Herr Freud, but I love Garfield NOT because he is a cat, but because he is what he is now thanks to Jim Davis. His wit, sarcasm, and even narcissism never fail to bring smiles onto my face - and many times I burst into hysterical laughter. Jim Davis pointed it out correctly: that people like Garfield because they can identify themselves with him, or simply because they want to be him. They want to be brave enough to say what he says, do what he does -- in short, do whatever they want and remain free of worriness, and of guilt.

An article in Slate's 11 June edition by Chris Suellentrop was devoted to this larger-than-life feline. OK, not really. Mostly chronologizing this so-called most popular strip in the globe, it was -- I'd say -- much more of a welcome to "Garfield: The Movie", due out this week across the US. Suellentrop predicts that the movie will never be a hit (in theatres, one may well debate on its DVD prospect), and that it is exactly what Davis might want. Suellentrop underlines the fact that in the late 1980s -- after Garfields products flooded the whole world -- Davis decided to pull Garfield dolls off the shelves. As Suellentrop has argued, what's kept Garfield in business for so long is Davis' canny understanding of how much is too much. And while Davis has in fact agreed to the production of "Garfield: The Movie", he is probably one of the people who are not in favor of the movie's huge success -- along with his rivals.

I've read the tagline, and I have to admit that the plot is so weak. I would even say that such script should be taken an insult for Garfield's intellect, which is far beyond his species -- and to a certain extent, his human "colleagues". If he wanted to, and if he were willing to put aside his hatred to Mondays and mornings, he could've established a detective agency with Quilleran's Koko! (OK, Lilian Jackson Braun would dis this idea, for sure). I have to say that this makes Chris Suellentrop's writing seem correct. Which adult would ever want to see such movie?

I would.