Cats 2019: Every Song Ranked From Least To Most Horrifying
3. Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town
James Corden has done fairly well in other musical roles, but that absolutely cannot be said for his performance here. Apart from singing on key, he doesn't bring much to the table for the character of Bustopher Jones, and his jokes about being self-conscious about his weight fall flat, not even matching the character he's playing - who is exceptionally proud to be fat, and is well-respected in his community for being so.
The entire character of Bustopher Jones is that of a refined cat who gets the best food out of the best garbage in town. He's well-fed and healthy among the cats, and his conceit is that he's a wealthy british gentleman type - ridiculous, but not over the top.
For James Corden (or perhaps the director), Bustopher Jones is a parade of bad fat jokes and unfunny Cordenisms, with physical humour that doesn't work with the CGI, ending with him going to hell in a trash can - that is, getting transported by Elba's Macavity to a barge on the Thames, so that Macavity can be Old Deuteronomy's only choice for the blessing of a new life.
It's not fun, but at least Corden can sing.