So, after two posts, we finally get to Josie and the Pussycats- one of my favorite cheesy movies of all time ever. It was going to be the first one I reviewed, but I decided to save it until I'd gotten the ball rolling. The film is, obviously, a big-screen adaptation of the comic/cartoon franchise that follows the antics of a crime-fighting, three piece rock band. The film, in similar suit, follows a small-town garage band as they mysteriously make it big overnight, and then discover the dark secrets behind their new label. Josie is great in that it manages to be an awesomely over-the-top, cheesy comedy that knows how to make fun of itself, a successful satire on the state of the music industry (and pop culture in general) circa 2000, and a badass girl power movie all in one.
"Josie and the Pussycats" combines an amazing cast, incredibly impressive soundtrack, witty, ironic set design and some of the best cheesy dialogue ever, to create a film that satisfies on many levels. Every detail of this film adds to either the cheesy goodness aspect or the badass aspect, and I have watched it more times than is healthy, and it has never gotten old.
For a film based on an Archie comic, the show managed to assemble quite the impressive cast. Rachel Leigh Cook (She's all That), also known as the most badass girl ever (just watch her "This is your Brain on Drugs" PSA on youtube) plays appropriately badass punker girl Josie. Cook provides a strong, tough, yet realistically vulnerable protagonist, and really makes the viewer wish she did more films. Tara Reid (American Pie) as Melody, plays one of the best dumb blondes ever, and Rosario Dawson ("Clerks 2") tops off the all-star leading cast as the insecure Valerie. Cameos by Eugene Levy, Seth Green (whose character is in a boy band) and Carson Daly (who tries to murder Tara Reid's character... especially funny for anyone who remembers their relationship) solidify this cast as awesome.
The humour of the movie mostly comes from three sources: jokes about media and advertisement, the antics of the appropriately zany villains (record company execs Wyatt and Fiona, played by Alan Cumming and Parker Posey respectively, and at one point a brainwashed Josie), and absolutely anything that Tara Reid says or does. The baddassery of the movie comes from Cook and Dawson's intense stage presence and acting, great fight scenes, and the soundtrack: 11 head banging pop-punk tunes sung by pop-punk veteran Kay Henley (Letters to Cleo), and backed by a team of musicians including Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) and Bif Naked, that will make you wish that they were a real band so they could release more albums (although Spinal Tap has released more, so there's always a chance).
Anyway, back to the movie, one of the most entertaining parts of the film is the super-abundant product placement, coinciding with the movie's focus on commercialization (and appropriately ironic as the theme is very much anti-commercialization). From McDonald's golden arches on a shower wall, to about a million Target logos painted on every other wall (and my favourite: a stuffed puppy with a Target logo for an eye that shows up everywhere), the viewer is constantly and completely bombarded with product placement. The film also maintains artistic integrity for this, as they did not accept payment for the majority of this product placement.
Tara Reid's Melody is absolutely fantastic. Going above and beyond classic 'dumb blonde', Reid portrays a character who lives in a completely different universe than the average person, and is more sweet and innocent than a bag full of puppies. Her character can be summed up in a scene where she gets out of the shower to see a terrifying message written on her bathroom mirror in red. After screaming in fear, she gets out her lipstick, adds smiley faces and hearts to the message. Satisfied, she shrugs and skips away, perfectly happy. This kind of over-the-top nonsense is what the humour Josie is all about, and Melody delivers it in bucketfulls.
One more part I'd like to cover before quotes is the film's boy band DuJour. Consisting of typical boy-band idiots.(who don't quite know what DuJour means), and releasing a single entitled "Backdoor Lover", they are quite hilarious. And Seth Green plays one of them. Also, "Backdoor Lover" contains the line "I'll show you a love that's more than hot". That alone makes it awesome.
Anyway, like most films I have reviewed, the best cheesieness is in the dialogue. Josie and the Pussycats goes for an over-the-top element that is absolutely great, as can be seen by awesome quotes like:
Brainwashed Josie: (to Mel): Not everyone gets a happy ending, muffin... Puppies turn into dogs... who get old... and DIE!
Alexandra: I'm here because I was in the comic book (breaking the fourth wall=awesome)
Josie: Oh my God... I'm a trend pimp!
Eugene Levy: Hello, I'm Eugene Levy. And yes, I am an actor.
Melody: If I could go back in time... I'd meet Snoopy!
And, of course, Val, at one point, says "you messed with the wrong pussy". Anyone who doesn't see that quote coming doesn't know how to see a quote coming. Despite it's predictability, that quote's still awesome, though.
So, anyway, you should watch Josie and the Pussycats (preferably with me). And you should buy the CD. Or borrow the CD from me. Or listen to the CD with me. Either way, one my favourite movies, and it comes with one of the best soundtracks ever, so at least give it a try or I'm not your friend anymore, loserface.
Anyway, if you can't find it (and are too lazy to come over here and watch it with me), then you can gets it here:
and the CD is here:
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