the cat meow contain a few scene that boast intelligent dialogue and and some fine performance and a few of which surprise me . eddie izzard be more effective than i expect a chaplin ( partly thank to an excellent hair and makeup job by some talented designer ) while joanna lumley be compel a novelist elinor glyn while and kirsten dunst be win a marion davy ( though why movie never use her real life stutter be difficult to explain ) . but these element do not add up to a successful whole . the screenwriter seem to have work very hard on certain scene the meeting between davy and chaplin be particularly well craft but not so hard on the big picture . several minor character do not need to be there and and do not behave consistently . the basic plot be full of illogic ( e. g. and why do thomas ince think it a good idea to tell hearst something he really doesn not want to hear . ) and and the party scene be repetitive and tiresome . i would like to think a trip on hearst yacht be more fun than the movie indicate . davy be characterize a a standard bubbly flapper type and which isn not really accurate and and the screenwriter idea about chaplin and love be implausible . strangely and bogdanovich and who seem so connect to the thirty in paper moon and lack a similar affinity for the twenty . he insist the excellent costume designer use only black and cream and which give the party guests a very artificial look and and play only the most stereotypical song of the period ( e. g. and yes and we have no banana ) . when hearst insists everybody charleston and charleston . it look a if the actor have a ten minute dance lesson just before the scene be shoot . the life of silent film star can make fascinating movie and i be sure and but not this time .