Lost Cat Corona: Movie Review

Meanders along looking for a lost cat.

Lost Cat Corona has a real sense of atmosphere, and that is easily its strongest attribute. A film crafted to display the neighbourhood of Corona in Queens, New York, along with its characters and the lives they lead in all of their dysfunctional glory. There is a lost cat, but that becomes secondary to the story. The story is Dominic (Ralph Macchio) and his adventures in his neighbourhood with friends and con-men alike.		2016 Directed by: Anthony Tarsitano Screenplay by: Anthony Tarsitano Starring: Ralph Macchio
It starts with a cat running out a door, and later Dominic’s wife informing him that he has to find Leonard, the missing black cat. She cares much more than he does, but since he’s apparently the one that lost the cat, he has to find the cat. Dominic cares about his wife, therefore he will spend his day looking for the cat. This quickly devolves into random conversations with friends, and side storylines with random strangers that will show up later. At first the side storylines seem interesting because its obvious that there’s a lot more to it than what we’re shown, but with the lack of interest in the characters, that just disappears. Of all the side plots in Dominic’s adventures, the only good one is his friend Saul’s father’s wake, during which he has a little business on the side. This is also the storyline that leads to Dom’s evolution as a character. The character study angle of this film is subtle and fairly minimal, but handled really well. Ultimately, Lost Cat Corona is about a man adapting to his life. He’s a fairly ordinary, average man, at least ordinary and average compared to his neighbours in Corona, and can allow the audience to care for him. This is Ralph Macchio – the Karate Kid afterall – and this is exactly the type of role he excels in. There’s a little bit of humour found in the film, but it’s never laugh-out-loud funny; there are a few interesting characters, but a lot that are forced to be more interesting (or funny) than they actually are. Even for its short run-time, it will test your patience as it meanders along the streets of Corona. But it it’s also just a nice, little film. Macchio is great in the lead, a film that really is just about him – he’s the lost cat, if you will.