A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

Based on the international best selling book. The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.

Director:

Roger Spottiswoode

Writers:

James Bowen (novel), Garry Jenkins (novel)

Stars:

Luke Treadaway, Bob the Cat, Ruta Gedmintas

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Luke Treadaway	...	James
Bob the Cat	...	Bob
Ruta Gedmintas	...	Betty
Joanne Froggatt	...	Val
Anthony Head	...	Jack Bowen
Darren Evans	...	Baz
Tony Jayawardena	...	Tony
Adam Riches	...	Man with Car
Llewella Gideon	...	Meter Woman
Lorraine Ashbourne	...	Local Housing Officer
Akbar Kurtha	...	Pharmacist
John Henshaw	...	Tube Station Guard
Beth Goddard	...	Hilary
Ivana Basic	...	Vet Receptionist
Jessica Woodland	...	Vet Assistant

Storyline

Based on the international best selling book. The true feel good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, had his life transformed when he met a stray ginger cat.

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Plot Keywords:

human animal relationship | drug addict | london england | cat | street musician | 

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Taglines:

Based on the international best seller.

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Genres:

Biography | Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Street Cat Named Bob

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$35,070, 18 November 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$35,070, 18 November 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shooting Script Films, Hindsight Media, Iris Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Producer Adam Rolston's first film.

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Goofs

James & Bob catch the 38 bus (a real bus route) from his new flat somewhere in Islington, which is in north London, to get to Covent Garden in central London. This is a journey of approximately 2.5 miles in a southerly direction on this route (presumably James gets off around Cambridge Circus and walks the few hundred yards to Covent Garden). The final destination on the front of the bus should therefore read 'Victoria Station' if its is heading south but in the film the front of the bus says the 38 bus terminates at 'Angel Islington' which indicates that the bus is travelling northwards and therefore in completely the wrong direction.

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Quotes

Betty, Val: [from the trailer] Bob came to you for a reason
James Bowen: Bob?
Betty, Val: That's what he wants you to call him

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Crazy Credits

On the UK release, the British Board Of Film Censors card preceding the feature reads 'A Streetcar Named Desire' briefly, before being replaced by the appropriate card for the film. This may have been a glitch peculiar to the cinema.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)

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Soundtracks

You Need This In Your Life
Written by Charlie Fink
Performed by Luke Treadaway
(p) 2016 Sony Music Entertainment

User Reviews

It helps to have known a cat named Bob

This film offers almost exactly what you would expect it to and there's nothing wrong with that. We've seen better movies about the trials of homelessness, the tortures involved in getting clean from heroin, especially the latter when it's worth remembering this is a 12A certificate and so the horrors experienced by the main character can't be quite as lurid, nightmarish and unsettling as those depicted in TRAINSPOTTING.

Otherwise, this adaptation of James Bowen's autobiography, his account of how he was saved by the unlikely companionship of Bob, is pretty likable stuff. Luke Treadaway's performance is perfectly fine; his depiction of a drug user who's lost everything and is living rough comes across as credible enough. If there's a sense of fantasy about the effect Bob has on his fortunes - Londoners react to Bob as though they've never seen a cat before - then you just have to go with it to an extent. The film makes it clear that Bob personifies James's salvation, and it was a lovely detail to discover one of the feline actors playing the cat was none other than Bob himself.

Anthony Head doesn't need to do much to play James's estranged father, but he handles the emotional turmoil hidden beneath the character's austere exterior really well. Joanne Froggatt and THE STRAIN's Ruta Gedmintas are memorable as James's doctor and distant love interest respectively. The latter is a bit too obviously 'hippy chick' but she just about gets away with it, and I respected that the romantic undertones of her story line climaxed in a bittersweet, realistic way.

For me, this is up there with EDDIE THE EAGLE as a title that won't win any awards and will never slay the box office, but it made me feel better for having seen it. I'm looking forward to reading Bowen's book now. And I once knew a cat called Bob - a more affectionate and avuncular friend I don't think I've ever had.