| Overall: | C+ |
|---|---|
| Violence: | B- |
| Sexual Content: | C+ |
| Language: | C |
| Drugs/Alcohol: | B |
| Run Time: | 98 |
| Theater Release: | |
| Video Release: | 14 Aug 2001 |
| MPAA Rating: | |
| See Canadian Ratings | |
| How We Determine Our Grades | |
Tired of playing bowling alleys, band leader Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), bass guitarist Valerie (Rosario Dawson), and ditsy drummer Melody (Tara Reid) can't believe their good fortune when music manager Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming) comes to sleepy Riverdale and offers them a huge record deal before even hearing them play. Suspicious at first, Josie and the girls figure they have nothing to lose.
Jumping to the top of the charts faster than a cat can climb a tree, the group doesn't know that Wyatt uses rock star wannabes to further a huge brainwashing project operated by his boss Fiona (Parker Posey), the CEO of Mega Records. Through subliminal messages, Fiona can convince the populace to buy into anything, and utilizes quick success groups to deliver her message, then dumps them when their own egos become infected--like the boy band Wyatt left on a nose-diving plane in the opening scene. Now the only question is how long will these "innocent" kittens have before Fiona puts them to sleep?
Joining the litter of characters populating Archie comics in the early 1960's, this movie's attempt to parody our advertising saturated society is a novel approach compared to other sixties-TV-turned-movie titles that belong in the litter box. Yet I wonder if the young crowd this movie is squarely aimed at will understand why corporate logos are placed on every object, wall, and shower curtain in this movie, or will Josie simply be remembered as the most product endorsed film ever, becoming part of the marketing machine the movie is out to slam.
This whole debate may be moot, with many parents wondering about the PG-13 rating that's been applied to these comic book characters. While the Archie Comics website has even addressed this issue (claiming the movie is obviously incorrectly rated), a sprinkling of mild and moderate profanities along with a slang sexual anatomical term (Pussycats isn't the innocent phrase it used to be) squarely park this title into the lower end of the PG-13 classification. Add the band members' barely there costumes and a naked man carefully holding a guitar, and you'll likely agree that this Josie is a different breed of cat from the one you grew up with.
Josie And The Pussycats is rated PG-13: for language and mild sensuality.
Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook
Studio: (pictures (c)2001 Universal Pictures)
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About the Reviewer: Rod Gustafson
Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. He currently serves as the President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness, a provincial non-profit society. He also authors a regular column for The Parent's Television Council in Los Angeles. He and his wife Donna have four children.
