Kevin Spacey has played a wide range of roles in his time as a star of movies and television. From slimy senator to suspicious hood, from police negotiator to legendary crooner, he's made us laugh, cry, and wish we were never born. Yet his latest role in the film Nine Lives is something you have to see for yourself in order to truly believe it. Check it out below, and try to keep an open mind.
Just in case you're still a little shell shocked, this is a real trailer. Famed film company EuropaCorp, the folks behind such hit film franchises as The Transporter and Taken, released this trailer yesterday, and it's a real head-scratcher. Nine Lives is the type of story that films like Big, Vice Versa, and Freaky Friday have used to mill comedy gold for decades, as it tells the story of billionaire Tom Brand, and his purchase of a new pet for his daughter. Of course, this purchase is no ordinary purchase, as the crazy shopkeeper that sold him the cat (Christopher Walken) has sent his consciousness into the cat, as a way of making workaholic Tom spend more time with his family.
We're going to be completely honest, as the reason this trailer looks so bizarre isn't because of the storyline, it's because of the cast they actually signed to make Nine Lives into a reality. This looks more like an Eddie Murphy movie that would have been released a decade ago, not a Kevin Spacey starring vehicle with Jennifer Garner co-anchoring the ship as his' exasperated wife. Admittedly, catching Christopher Walken in here is the only part that didn't surprise us, as the man has confessed to never turning down work if he can help it. Honestly, he's the most sensible part of this otherwise wacky trailer, and his one-liner about Spacey's transformation kind of steals the show.
As surprising as the trailer for Nine Lives may have been, we can't help but think that it may have partially been inspired by a previous performance Kevin Spacey had given on Jimmy Kimmel Live not too long ago. In the sketch entitled, "Ameowdeus," Spacey played a version of internet sensation Keyboard Cat, as he engaged in a rivalry with Christoph Waltz's Hamster on a Piano. While it was undoubtedly surprising to see the Academy Award winner in a cat costume, after our first viewing of Nine Lives the Kimmel sketch seems downright quaint.
There is still a chance that Kevin Spacey and company may pull a surprisingly funny film out of Nine Lives, especially considering this is only the first trailer for the film. It may not be the most highbrow of concepts, but one vague trailer isn't enough to scare the curiosity out of us. That, and even if the film does turn out to be horrible, at the very least there's a chance someone might take the footage from the film and dub over it with dialogue from House Of Cards. We'll see which scenario turns out to be the truth when Nine Lives opens on August 5th.
