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| Josie and the Pussycats is the most fun you will have at the movies this spring. Based on the goofy Archie comics spinoff of the same name, Josie was the feminist's answer to both Betty and Veronica and the Scooby Doo Gang. When not playing in Riverdale's most purrfect (lame pun, I know) rock and roll band, this trio was out solving mysteries- go figure, it was the 70s. For this posh movie update, though, filmmakers Harry Elfont and Debra Kaplan (also responsible for Can't Hardly Wait, which would explain most of the cast of Pussycats) thankfully ditched the crimebusting racket and focused solely on bringing the girls into the 90s as a full-on pop-punk band pitted against the scandalously lampooned music industry. The story goes as such: three smalltown girls in a band can't get a break, but have big dreams of rock and roll stardom. Meanwhile, a scout/manager from Mega Records, Wyatt Frame, (Alan Cumming) needs a new band to sell after superboyband Du Jour disappears "mysteriously." Through a chance encounter in downtown Riverdale, Wyatt runs into the Pussycats and soon they're on their way to the top of the charts. Conflict comes from Fiona, Mega Records's major domo. We learn that she is secretly working with the government to plant subliminal messages into the records of Mega Records' bands. These messages not only make teens buy the records, but generally control all teen fads and consumerism right down to buzzwords and the latest in fashionable colors ("Orange is the new pink!") As bands become curious about their ultrafast fame or these covert ops, they are killed off and then- this is my favorite part- their deaths are made logical and public through programs like VH1's Behind the Music!!! Ever wonder why so many musicians die in plane/car/whatever crashes and always so young? Hijinks ensue. This movie never took the smile off my face. The over the top- but pitchperfect- casting. The frenetic music video pace- not to mention the music video set pieces. The vibrant colors and costumes (Fiona's "in" frocks are true wonders of the imagination) The ultimate in product placements- logos EVERYWHERE! You can't even imagine until you see it, a great and scathing slap in the face of modern day commercialism. Between Du Jour's Target jet and Melody's McDonald's bathroom, I couldn't stop laughing out loud. The great musical puns and injokes- which I think only I seemed to be enjoying are ingenius. Most of the music-related jokes went over the heads of the younger set and under the noses of their parents, but if you're saavy, you're in for some real gems. (A couple examples: Carson Daly taking a bat to a cardboard standup of Britney Spears on a faux-TRL set or Wyatt trying to stop the girls from complaining by reasoning "So you want to be a rock superstar? Live large with a big house and five cars?" or Babyface's cameo as the third member of Captain and Tenille!!!) The double entendres thanks to the incessant use of the word "pussycat" and all of its incarnations (if you have to ask...) are great for immature minds like my own. And the general naughtiness of jokes that shouldn't have made their way into a family film, but that somehow manage to come off saccharine sweet- chief example being Du Jour's hit single, "Back Door Lover." And then there's the music!!!!!!! I cannot express how much I am dying to buy this soundtrack. Produced by Babyface, written by the film's directors, and performed by Kay Hanley of nowdefunct Letters to Cleo, the Pussycats' power pop is infectiously, amazingly good. I could only wish that they were a real band whose followup album I would look forward to with much anticipation, but alas..... Check out these winkwink lyrics from the single "Three Small Words": "But it took 6 whole hours And 5 long days 4 all your lies to come undone And those 3 small words Were way 2 late 'Cause you can't see that I'm the 1" I love it! As for the Pussycats themselves, the performances are spots-on (sorry more bad puns). Rosario Dawson, in what will probably be her bigscreen breakout- she's previously been featured in KIDS and He Got Game, leaves quite the impression as Valerie. Taking up the bass guitar where her cartoon counterpart only shook a tambourine, Val is the backbone of the band. Dawson, likewise, gives a strong showing as the voice of reason. I couldn't help but get this feeling of the filmmakers taking stabs at racism in the entertainment industry, though, through her role. Notice how 1. she's always left behind and 2. in Wyatt's various pitches of the band to Fiona he describes the band solely in terms of how Val stands out as the only black member. Val's last name is Brown, too, which makes me cringe, but that's the fault of Archie comics, not the movie. Though come to think of it, she's pretty much the only black person in the entire movie aside from the one member of Du Jour. Come to your own conclusion there. Tara Reid as dumb blonde Melody is excellent and adorable. While I absolutely loathed Reid in such previous efforts as American Pie and Cruel Intentions, perhaps it should have been her work with the Coen Brothers and Robert Altman that I paid attention to. Her Melody is not the bumbling blonde, but rather the blonde with a heart of gold. She's into puppies and rainbows, but isn't a complete louse at the same time. Much fun is made at her expense (watch her sing "If you're happy if you know it" endlessly dropping her sponge in the shower as she goes to clap her hands) but Reid is a willing participant and clearly helps the audience understand the compassion behind Mel's eyes. I also loved it when she runs into a fan on the street- they're dressed identically- the fan screaming at seeing her idol, Melody screaming because she sees her double. (Just writing this, I'm laughing all over again!!) Last is Josie herself, Rachel Leigh Cook. Now, I'd be lying if I said I haven't had a big crush on Cook ever since she told me what drugs to my friends and family from the comforts of her kitchen, so I feel no regret in mentioning that she is HOT in this role! In fact, I hate knowing that she was lip-synching because she looks so right when she straps on her guitar and belts out each pop confection. Even crush aside, though, there is no denying she looks the part of femme rock star. As far as performances go, she's very good, too. It feels wrong that she should have a crush on waif Alan M. (dubiously dubbed the sexiest man in Riverdale) because I feel this weakens her girl power significantly. This is no small point, either. Josie as a role model- as much as the other two Pussycats- to young girls is great because not enough movies are really made for the empowerment of women at a young age or if they are, they're often still degrading in other ways (think most Disney movies). This movie has a general bent towards being a yay!-being-female-is-great message movie, which I think is honestly important, but betrays this in a big way through the inclusion of Josie's need for a crush. Cook's Josie does follow the ideals of Friends First, Band Second, though, which is positive for both sexes. Indeed, the bonding in this estrogen outing seems downright genuine and lets the audience in on the fun and makes the movie even that much more enjoyable to watch. You know when actors enjoyed making a movie because their energy jumps right off the screen. (Think the Beatles in A Hard Day's Night, who are all smiles versus the Bitches in the new Charlie's Angels, who are rumoured to have fought endlessly on the set.) Their supporting cast, drawn largely from other teen efforts such as Road Trip, Can't Hardly Wait, and She's All That, I'm sure was a big help in that department, too. In their short appearances, the boys of Du Jour, most notably Breckin Meyer and Seth Green are hilarious in sending up N*SYNC and others of their ilk. A cameo by Eugene Levy as himself in a mockdoc explaining the subliminal messaging process is priceless (although, again, only I seemed to appreciate his presence as most of the audience I'm sure wasn't familiar with his past performances.) Next, in a role only he or fellow Brit, Richard E. Grant, could have played, Alan Cumming is deftly inpsired in his role as manager Wyatt. His smarm and sleaze, not to mention his "trendy" duds and haircut put him over the top in this one. Seamlessly spouting off musically charged oneliners/nonsequitors, Cumming spins dialogue like an LP under a sharp-tongued needle. Before jumping out of a plane he motions to the pilot and shouts, "Take the Chevy to the levy!" If you say so, Alan! Last but not least, I'd like to mention happily that for once, Parker Posey does not suck! As wannabe trendy Fiona, Posey excels slipping in and out of a mysterious speech impediment (it'll make sense by the end). The delight she takes in possessing the minds of America's youth, too, is joyfully extreme. As she prances around her fad control center, she reigns queen of the "in", although her aforementioned wardrobe is something to be called into laughable question. The hero worship established between transparent Fiona and lackey Wyatt seems to play to the satire of the do or die music industry ethics. The fact that Fiona is so completely lost in her own importance certainly helps that notion along, as well. To conclude, this movie is exactly what it looks like: pure movie fun for (relatively) the whole family. Enjoy this guilty pleasure as I did. You may just be surprised when that grin won't go away. By Dan $8.25/10.00 |
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