I didn't absolutely hate Garfield 1, but I personally thought the film wasn't that great. The first problem is that the plot is as thin as a piece of cardboard and rather slow-moving. Bill Murray does his best with rather superficial material, but at times he sounds rather monotonic. While the script isn't completely devoid of humour, it is very uneven, and while kids will like the jokes, adults won't find much to go on. Stephen Tobolowsky's villain, despite having some good delivery, just doesn't quite convince, likewise with Brekin Meyer as Jon.
However, there are several redeeming merits, the most obvious one being Oadie the dog. I am 17, but I still found him so adorable, especially when he started dancing on his hind legs. Another obvious plus is the always lovely Jennifer Love Hewitt as Liz, who has been in a number of duds, but still shines because of her endearing personality and beauty. I also thought there were some well chosen locations, and while the film on the whole wasn't very funny, the scene when Garfield is blown so hard into the air-conditioning duct that his face gets stamped into the metal was very funny indeed.
Overall, not a bad movie, but not a particularly good one either. I don't really recommend this other than for Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oadie or if you're a Garfield fan, but I did enjoy the sequel more. 4/10 for a brave attempt to bring a comic book to the big screen. Bethany Cox
