Josie & The Pussycats (2001)

    Josie & The Pussycats is a strange anomaly of cinema. While it certainly takes the source material and remixes it for a contemporary audience (well, in 2001 anyway) it was certainly not made with the cartoon's original audience in mind. That alone should have created a disjointed film with no marketable audience, but no. Instead what we got was a veritable cult classic about the power of love and friendship in the face of a cold and careless corporate conglomeration. Secondary to that we have a parable about the dangers of losing one's self identity and conformity. Take all of this and roll it up with a fun soundtrack and you've something rather special on your hands.

    We start our adventure in Riverdale (yes, this is in fact in the Archie comics universe.) and find our heroes Josie, Mel and Val, better known as The Pussycats playing a gig at the local bowling alley where precisely no one is paying attention to them, despite the fact that they're playing some rather catchy tunes.  

    Okay, well that's not entirely true...we start our adventure high in the sky aboard a private jet that is transporting boy band DuJour to their next gig.  The band discovers some a rather strange backing track on their latest album and confront MegaRecords executive Wyatt Frame about it.  Wyatt in return tells the jets pilot it's time to "Drive the Chevy to the Levy", which it turns out is code for "Jump out of the plane and parachute to safety, leaving the band to die in a horrible plane crash."

    Upon landing, Wyatt is already scheming, searching for a replacement band for DuJour.  Heh heh heh....DuJour, still makes me giggle.  Anyway, plot device, plot device, yadda yadda yadda, and Wyatt literally just about runs into Josie, Mel & Val while Meatloaf's PARADISE BY THE DASHBOARD LIGHT plays on the soundtrack. Stars are born. Next thing you know Josie and gang are being whisked off to New York City along with their manager Alexander, his sister Alexandria and Josie's friend (read-love interest) Alan M.

    Meanwhile at MegaRecords head office, CEO Fiona is meeting with the United State Government because naturally Uncle Sam is in bed with the giant conglomerate in a scheme to plant subliminal messages into music to control the masses. We learn that DuJour was NOT the first to discover the sinister conspiracy and there have been a long list of musicians who have met with fatal....er....accidents.

    The bands first single is cut and released in record time (pun intended) and thanks to the magic of subliminal messaging becomes and instant hit and the masses are clamoring for more. 

    Valerie is becoming unhappy with the direction the band is suddenly taking, going from The Pussycats to Josie & The Pussycats and most of the attention being heaped upon Josie, Mel and Val are thrust violently into the background...and as it just so happens, from there it's rather obvious that things are not on the up and up.

    Fiona tells Wyatt to get rid of the two meddling musicians and he gives Josie a track to listen to which...of course...is chock full of subliminal messages telling her that Val and Mel hate her and she's the real star and blah blah blah.  The subliminal power is too much for her and she succumbs to MegaRecord's evil scheme.  It would seem that the Pussycats are done for!

    Of course things turn out okay in the end.  I'm not going to spoil it for you, but it's a pretty darn feel good ending and gosh darn it if you aren't humming those tunes by the end of this flick then you clearly weren't paying attention.

    Josie is played by Rachel Leigh Cook, who you may know from The 18th Angel. Mel is played by Tara Reid, who of course is most famous for the American Pie films as well as the Sharknado flicks. Finally Mel is played by the incredible Rosario Dawson. If you don't know who she is.....I don't even know what to say.
Parker Posey and Alan Cumming round out the cast as Fiona and Wyatt.  
The cast all does a stellar job, but for my money....DuJour steals the show.

    DuJour consists of four members played by Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Donald Faison &  Alexander Martin.  They pull off the ridiculous 90's boy band vibe perfectly. Especially when they're performing their hit song.....er.....Backdoor Lover before boarding their plane that fateful day. 

Backdoor Lover has some rather....interesting lyrics.....

This kind of love is wrong

But you know it feels so right

Runnin' my hands across your cheeks

They're oh so smooth and white

So leave the light on baby

And unlock your back door

I'll be comin' through that way tonight

To love you for sure

    But anyway, back to the real music....The Pussycats sing some really catchy damn tunes, as I've mentioned.  That could be because there was some pretty damn talented musicians lending their writing skills including Adam Duritz from The Counting Crows, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo, who also provided Josie with her singing voice.

    There are also some fantastic cameos sprinkled in here including Eugene Levy as the host of Fiona's informational video about subliminal messaging Carson Daly and Aries Spears as....The Other Carson Daly.  Spears does a rather great Bill Cosby impression.  As in like his voice...he didn't drug and molest anybody. 
It's really quite a scene and one you've gotta see to really appreciate. 

    So what are you waiting for? Go watch Josie & The Pussycats!