A Christmas Gift From Bob Review

A Street Cat Named Bob was a big hit in the UK. It was a touching story about how a man saved a stray cat and that cat helped him overcome his drug addiction. The pair return for a Christmas themed sequel.

Following the events of the first film James Bowen (Luke Treadaway) still busks in Covent Garden and outside Angel tube station. Despite Bob being a clearly loved cat, a busybody council worker, Leon (Tim Plester), makes it his mission to separate James from Bob.

A Street Cat Named Bob was a loose adaptation of James and Bob’s story. Many details were changed like James having a love interest, how Bob got his name, and the time frame of the story. Yet it worked as a heart-warming story that explored issues of homelessness, poverty, and drug addiction. It had a focus on James getting clean and rebuilding his life. It was a solid drama that had the added appeal of Bob the Cat.

The sequel was sadly was a needless continuation that was only made for commercial reasons. It probably would have been a hit in the UK because it’s a Christmas film featuring a cute cat, but due to the pandemic, the film has ended up on Amazon Prime.

The film’s problems were threefold: it puts James back to square one, the stakes were low, and the film had little substance. The original film showed James’ struggles living on the street, having to live on pennies, and the hard scenes of him suffering from withdrawal. There was nothing of that sort of weight in the sequel. The tone was a lot lighter than the previous films, such as when Bob gets a costume he wasn’t fond of. It was an adorable moment.

At the end of A Street Cat Named Bob James had published his book and became a successful author. Yet the film takes places after the success of the book and James was still working as a busker. It felt like the film took place in a different reality to the first film. By this point James was well known, people around Covent Garden spoke to him, yet other characters forget who he was, like when a video leaked online after James clashed with the animal welfare officer.

In the previous film James’ was on his last chance to get his life sorted. If James failed he could end up on the streets forever or die from an overdose. The worst thing that could happen to James in this film was Bob could be taken away from him. Whilst that would have been sad for James, it was not the end of the world. The story of the film was told as a flashback so the audience already knew the outcome.

There was also a downgrade in the characterisation. Leon was a cartoony villain because he simply hated homeless people. The people of London don’t come out of looking good with many characters acting selfishly or simply dickish. The previous film had some nuance like James’ dad who was torn between trying to support his son but having a wife who wants to keep him away from their young children.

A Street Cat Named Bob did attract Anthony Head and Joanne Froggatt, recognisable actors due to their TV roles. A Christmas Gift From Bob didn’t have such big names in the cast. The most recognisable actors were Phaldut Sharma who played Sophie’s dad in the first season of Hanna, and Nina Wadia, AKA Zainab Masood from EastEnders. Kristina Tonteri-Young and Pepter Lunkuse were young, up-and-coming actors so their credits were limited. Tonteri-Young role was an amalgamation of Val the support worker and Betty the love interest from the previous film.

Considering that this was a Christmas film involving a cat, the ending did have a lot of schmaltz and sentimentality. The film does this well and does conclude on a sweet note.

A Christmas Gift From Bob was a film I wanted to like because I love cats and Bob was a lovely ginger tom. This was a film that was meant to be a heart-warming Christmas story but felt like it was made only for cynical reasons.