Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Dating comedy/thriller has sex, strong language, drinking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Cat Person
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In CAT PERSON, college sophomore Margot (Emilia Jones) meets movie buff Robert (Nicholas Braun) at the multiplex where she works shortly before she goes home for fall break. Starting a relationship over text, she finds Robert to be smart and witty, but she worries whether she can trust a man she met randomly. The movie was adapted from Kristen Roupenian's short story originally published in The New Yorker.
Is It Any Good?
Funny and frightening, this hair-raising cautionary fictional romance is all too realistic. (Lock it in a time capsule so future generations can see the impossibility of dating in 2023.) Walking in Margot's shoes, viewers are shown how women can feel unsafe in everyday circumstances, their imaginations firing from horror stories heard through the news and concerned friends, seeing red flags that may or may not actually exist. At the same time, we're able to see, through Robert, the difficulties that some men experience while trying to find love -- how the methods presented in pop culture for a century for meeting and romancing women no longer hold up. In other words, what once was presented as dashing now looks a whole lot like assault. As her two imperfect main characters hurtle toward each other with different hopes and expectations of romance -- informed by both movie romance and true crime tragedies -- Fogel shows that love is no longer a battlefield; it's a horror show.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Cat Person's opening quote from Margaret Atwood: "Men are afraid women will laugh at them. Women are afraid men will kill them." If this is true, how does that affect people's ability to find (and trust) love?
How does Margot's lack of honest communication with Robert lead to problems? Is being honest and direct the best policy, or is it better to try to protect someone from hurt feelings? Do you think women are taught to placate men?
Taylor and Margot discuss older movies that (perhaps unintentionally) contributed to rape culture. What are some films you've seen that deny women agency? How does entertainment impact our behavior when it comes to dating and relationships?
Is drinking glamorized here? Why, or why not? Why does that matter?
How does the film spotlight the self-deceptions people can create in dating? How do you think today's technology -- like texting instead of calling -- is impacting emotional connections? How can we really get to know someone?
Movie Details
- In theaters : October 6, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : December 1, 2023
- Cast : Emilia Jones , Nicholas Braun , Geraldine Viswanathan
- Director : Susanna Fogel
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s) , Indian/South Asian Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : StudioCanal
- Genre : Romance
- Topics : Friendship
- Run time : 118 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sexual content, violence and language
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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