This is another one of those movies that my local library has on DVD, so all it cost me was 90 minutes. Well, maybe 2 hours when you consider the extras I watched. With low expectations going in, I actually like this film a lot. It is "jerkin!" (See the film, one of the subliminal messages, along with colors, food products, shoes, and of course the band itself.) Josie and the Pussycats is a product of Archie Comics.
The back story is the need for record producer (Parker Posey) to find a new group, any group, simply as a "carrier" for their marketing messages. The group doesn't need to be very good, and this one isn't. Rachael leigh Cook is excellent as Josie, the lead singer, and Tara Reid is funny as the ditzy drummer of the group. (As an aside, they all were taught to play their instruments during performances so they look natural, even though professional playing and singing were over dubbed.)
Well, eventually the smart Josie figures out the scheme and foils it. They give a real, unencumbered concert performance, she gets the boy she wanted all the time. The whole film spoofs product placement and the recording industry that takes unknowns and through hype, molds them into hit groups for the profit of the handlers. Sort of like the current TV series "American Pop Idol" where a winner will be selected in a few weeks.
"Josie and the Pussycats" is a well-made and entertaining film, if one just watches it for what it is. Most professional critics just don't "get it."
The back story is the need for record producer (Parker Posey) to find a new group, any group, simply as a "carrier" for their marketing messages. The group doesn't need to be very good, and this one isn't. Rachael leigh Cook is excellent as Josie, the lead singer, and Tara Reid is funny as the ditzy drummer of the group. (As an aside, they all were taught to play their instruments during performances so they look natural, even though professional playing and singing were over dubbed.)
Well, eventually the smart Josie figures out the scheme and foils it. They give a real, unencumbered concert performance, she gets the boy she wanted all the time. The whole film spoofs product placement and the recording industry that takes unknowns and through hype, molds them into hit groups for the profit of the handlers. Sort of like the current TV series "American Pop Idol" where a winner will be selected in a few weeks.
"Josie and the Pussycats" is a well-made and entertaining film, if one just watches it for what it is. Most professional critics just don't "get it."