“Josie and The Pussycats,” with its girl power, light-hearted humor and simple theme, was a joy to watch from start to finish.
The film begins by mocking modern boy bands, with four singing males in leather pants and spiked hair, who wiggle in front of the camera while a crowd of screaming 13 year-old-girls wave signs and cry. Their band, Du Jour, is the number one band in the world.
On the flight home from its world tour, the band’s manager and pilot abandon the plane and leave them to crash in a tragic “accident.”
Meanwhile, three female musicians are performing to a crowd of uninterested bowlers at the local bowling alley in their small home town. The stylish and adorable trio, Josie and the Pussycats, include lead singer and guitarist Josie, played by Rachael Leigh Cook, bassist Val, played by Rosario Dawson, and Tara Reid as drummer Melody.
Each character has a distinctive personality: Josie, the leader, has a lot of ambition, Val thinks realistically and is the group’s downer, and Melody is naãve, cheerful and seems to be on her own wacky level.
The pop/punk garage band is going nowhere, and the Pussycats don’t seem to fit in with the other townspeople. Josie decides that if they are ever going to get a record contract, they need to get off their asses and make things happen.
New York City is where they end up seeking their rock ’n’ roll fantasy. They bring along their kooky manager, Alexander Cabot, played by Paulo Castanzo; his annoying needy wanna-be of a sister Alexandra Cabot, played by Missi Pyle; and Josie’s quiet and sensitive crush/friend Alan, who plays acoustic guitar and is played by Gabriel Mann.
Meanwhile, Du Jour’s manager, Wyatt Frame, a slick and slightly crooked man played by Alan Cummings, is sent by Fiona, the evil C.E.O. of Megarecords played by Parker Posy, to go to New York and find the new “It” band.
Wyatt is about to give up his search when he nearly runs over the Pussycats, who have their gear in tow after being shooed from a curbside gig.
Wyatt persuades the Pussycats to sign a recording contract without even hearing their music, which the women think is slightly strange but don’t care because they are about to be rock stars. The whole group — tag-alongs included — gets to ride in its own plane, which is inundated with advertising. Alan is supposed to be Josie’s guitar tech and Alexander is still their manager, but he has no say or authority.
The Pussycats make a pact that friendship comes first, the band second. Over the span of a week, their dreams start coming true, and they soon have a number one record. They are swamped with photo, video and magazine shoots, parties and the whole routine of being turned into rock stars. Yet, it doesn’t take long for the people closest to Josie to begin feeling less and less important.
The reason for the group’s sudden success stems from the manager’s lacing the music with subliminal messages to get kids to buy anything from Adidas to Pepsi. Du Jour heard some of the hidden messages in its music, which is why the band members were left to die in the crashing plane.
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The Pussycats don’t know any of this, of course, and by the time Melody and Val begin to think something is fishy, the record company has already brainwashed Josie by giving her the next single to listen to that has messages such as, “You’re the best Josie … The band would be nothing without you … Forget about the pussycats you are going to be a star.”
The movie reaches its climax with the Pussycats appearing on MTV’s “TRL” with Carson Daly, where he and his double attempt to kill the Pussycats with bats.
I initially had mixed feelings about Cook and Reid and how much I liked their acting ability and Hollywood personas, but when the movie was over, I had no doubts because they both turned out to be very likable characters.
This movie has an “Austin Powers” feel to it with its simple, but humorous plot, a ridiculous fight scene and goony villains with underground hideouts. Sure, the plot is predictable, with a few surprises — to me at least — but it’s a cute movie that got me laughing.
It’s a definite possibility that the halter tops, lip gloss, glitter and furry cat ears got to my head and clouded my perception, but I really dug this movie.
