Lol Gene is actually angry that they couldn't get a performance out of the cat in That Darn cat. I love the critical repartee between these two, who are such an odd couple themselves but make a perfect pair in the world of film review!
Well if you saw the NC or First Viewing videos on That Darn Cat 1997, you see how Doug and Rob Walker and Brad Jones all talk about how much better the cat in the 1965 version was in the role. Haha.
More times than not, Ebert was on the right side of the argument on films they disagreed on. But I think Siskel was 2 for 2 here. Neither Absolute Power or Fools Rush In was very good.
This was about the time when I was watching anything with Christina Ricci since I so enjoyed her Wednesday Addams. She was starting to become the queen of indie films, but she also appeared in silly fluff like That Darn Cat, and she absolutely couldn't save the film. The original with Hayley Mills was SO much better - and it wasn't a great film to start with!
Absolute Power was a based on a book and this film alters the outcome of the story. I believe Clint and EG Marshall's characters were killed in the book and that's probably why you can't believe either of them living in this film.
Absolute Power 1. Dour acting by the principals except Laura Linney 2. Clint Eastwood in his "superman"/"Dirty Harry" character 3. Plot excursions are abound resulting in implausibility for the sake of feeding audiences' expectations and judgments 4. Compromised ending as compared to the David Baldacci novel 5. The main plot echoes the similar 1997 release "Murder At 1600" starring Wesley Snipes... Both are critical and box-office flops