Written and Directed by Michael Ferrell
Starring Dana Brooke, Michael Ferrell, and Josh Tyson
Running time: 1 hour and 23 minutes
Not Rated

by Benjamin Leonard, Best Boy

If I were to start out giving you a synopsis of Laura Gets a Cat, it’d seem like a very dull film. This is because it does such a great job of representing all of the small setbacks and disappointments that the world (and sometimes our selves) dumps upon someone on their way to finding meaning in their career and life. If I described all of that to you, you might wonder why you should watch it. Maybe you are already living it (or have). However, in just his second feature, writer/director/co-star Michael Ferrell brings a sweet, funny and relatable appeal to the story through the use of good dialog and an unconventional main character who sometimes gets lost in her dreams (taking the viewer along for the ride).

With all that said, LGaC is the story of an out-of-work writer in New York who is in a too comfortable relationship. She wants more from her life (and herself) but she’s not sure how to get there. She confuses making changes for working towards improvements and makes several terrible decisions that she’s lucky didn’t lead to serious problems (or death).

Besides the dialog and inventiveness of the situations, the major strength of LGaC is its leading lady Dana Brooke. Surprisingly this is only her second feature, but she manages to bring just the right amount of humor and realism to the role without going over the top to annoy the viewer or make you hate/resent her. It wouldn’t be hard for Laura to cross from lovable to loathsome and Brooke takes you right up to that line without going over. There’s also a very enjoyable scene where her character gets to know Ferrell’s and they share some rapid-fire dialog that seems almost like a “shared monologue” because of the way they complete each other's sentences rather than interrupting.

Some of the supporting cast isn’t always the best, but no one is bad. It’s just that they are a little too ordinary. There IS a scene with Jason Kravits, who I’ve enjoyed ever since he played weasely Assistant District Attorney Richard Bray on The Practice back around the turn of the century. I’m always happy to see him on screen

Laura Gets a Cat is a light, enjoyable film that discusses some topics that could have been sad and suffocating in the wrong hands. The film recently got picked up by Amazon and you can watch it here.