Aubrey Plaza has been quite the hot topic lately, from playing a dark witch in Agatha All Along to the already iconic Wow Platinum in Francis Ford Coppola's recent Megalopolis. However, her recognizable deadpan voice was put to good use long ago, and we are not referring to the likes of 'Parks and Recreation'. Aubrey Plaza voiced one of the internet's most famous memes, Grumpy Cat, in the Lifetime movie Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever (2014). As the first and last film appearance of Grumpy Cat, this made-for-television movie was (perhaps unsurprisingly) a critical bomb.
It follows the eponymous heroine as she and a young girl band together to save a mall pet store, a prize dog, and, ultimately, Christmas. Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever was directed by Tim Hill, who had also helmed other furry features, Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties (2006) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). Now regarded strongly as a member of an elite "so bad it's good" club and starring a current industry darling, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever is the perfect choice for a silly festive movie night with friends. Here's everything you need to know about this forgotten romp:
A Grumpy Phenomenon Close
Tardar Sauce, or as she was much more widely known, "Grumpy Cat", was one of the greatest internet phenomena the world has ever known . Known for her unique frowning visage caused by a form of feline dwarfism, Grumpy Cat was everywhere in the 2010s. The meme featured Grumpy Cat being inconvenienced or angered by all of life's irritabilities, combined with a recognizable top and bottom text. Grumpy Cat was remarkably lucrative, selling everything from books to video games to a partnership with Friskies. In fact, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever itself refers to Grumpy Cat as, "the internet's biggest cash cat". It was only a matter of time before the Grumpy Cat team veered into movie territory. In this case, about two years after the meme's inception.
A good reason for watching Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever, if nothing else, is that Grumpy Cat is seriously cute. It is easy to see why she had such a hold on the internet for so long. At the time the film started shooting, the Grumpy Cat image itself was valued at $1 million. Clearly, the world agreed that Grumpy Cat was adorable. Lifetime's acquisition of the Grumpy Cat intellectual property was nothing surprising, and it is not even shocking they got an A-lister like Plaza on board.
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Posts So Bad It's Good
Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever currently has a 27% on Rotten Tomatoes and has all but fallen into obscurity. Still, some critics have acknowledged that, although it is not the world's greatest cinematic experience, it has an undeniable charm. Sure, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever is a mess. The characters' motivations are difficult to follow at times (for example, the conflict in the film is that two famous rock stars have dognapped a valuable Leonberger dog, but they also go out of their way to express that they are not having money troubles?), the dialogue is rudimentary at best, and there is plenty of cringe to behold.
Bad movies are a genre to be celebrated all their own . They simply require one to go in with the right mindset. Having a decade of distance from Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever's original release, the time just may be nigh to celebrate all its faults in festive style. Now, it has become Christmas camp and a hilarious credit on Plaza's resume.
Aubrey Plaza Gets Meta Close
For a family Lifetime movie, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever features a remarkable amount of meta-commentary about capitalism and fame. There also happens to be quite a bit of adult humor (yet, it is rated G). All in all, this makes it a genuinely great casting fit for Plaza and a really fun watch. Apparently, Plaza had very little awareness of Grumpy Cat when she signed on to the project and had to do her research to prepare for her role. There are overt nods to this, as well as to the fact that Plaza is voicing Grumpy Cat, throughout the film.
Grumpy Cat directly addresses the audience multiple times. It is surprisingly witty, sardonic, and self-aware at times. Grumpy Cat functions like a pseudo-Grinch, pointing out Holiday inconveniences and ironies. If you are interested in examining what a Christmas movie really means or the rise and fall of a great meme, all through some not-so-subtle commentary provided by one of this generation's best dry comedic voices, Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever might be a sleeper hit for you to check out. You can stream Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever on Disney+ and Tubi.