Long before the cinematic dominance of the MCU, comic book movies were generally misunderstood by Hollywood. The studios often put more effort into selling licensed products instead of emphasizing quality control of the screenplays. When the film adaptation of Archie Comics’ Josie and the Pussycats hit theaters in 2001, it seemed like another cash-in on a popular title. However, the musical comedy was far more clever in its execution than it appears on the surface.
Predating the CW’s Riverdale by 16 years, Josie and the Pussycats came at a time when the pop music scene was exploding worldwide via MTV with the likes of the Spice Girls, N’Sync, and Britney Spears dominating the airwaves. Stars Rachael Leigh Cook (She’s All That), Tara Reid (American Pie), and Rosario Dawson headline as the talented trio as they navigate the hyper-stylized treacherous music industry and their devious record promoter, played by Parker Posey. Using the 2000s pop music craze as part of the movie’s premise, Josie and the Pussycats is not only about staying true to your authentic self but also plays as a satirical commentary on mass consumerism.
Parker Posey Is the Ultimate Scene-Stealer in ‘Josie and the Pussycats’
The Pussycats, consisting of lead singer Josie (Cook), drummer Melody (Reid), and bassist Valerie (Dawson), are paying their dues as a struggling band in Riverdale when they are discovered by MegaRecords executive Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming). Convincing the group to sign with the label, Wyatt takes the group to New York as they are renamed “Josie and the Pussycats” by the label’s A&R department, creating growing tension among the girls. Little does the group know that they are just one of several artists being used to record songs with subliminal messages as part of a secret operation led by Fiona (Posey), the insecure CEO of MegaRecords. Only the Pussycats have to avoid the doomed path of other musicians who went missing after learning the true intent behind the songs.
At first glance, Josie and the Pussycats hammer the viewers hard with various product placements from the likes of Motorola, Starbucks, and Target, among others. This was nothing new in the film industry, with movies ranging from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial to later James Bond installments being manifested with on-screen items to influence audiences to buy them. While played for laughs within the plot, the need to use artists as public influencers in the pre-social media days has brought truth to a reality in the music scene, where a musician’s talent can easily be overshadowed by heavy marketing and merchandising.
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The satirical element of setting popular trends in Josie and the Pussycats is what makes Posey’s Fiona the film’s big scene-stealer with her campy take on a formulaic James Bond villain. Despite her powers with the record company, Fiona represents every unpopular teenager who desires attention. By controlling the artists under MegaRecords, she lives vicariously through the power she never had as a teen by being in charge of what is deemed trendy and cool. Unfortunately for Fiona, her trendsetting goals come at the cost of no friends, causing awkward interactions with the Pussycats when she attempts to bond with them. Posey’s outlandish take on the role, while played for laughs by her awkwardness and physicality, has layers of humanity that surpass the flawed screenplay.
‘Josie and the Pussycats’ Struggled With Audiences
The trio of Cook, Reid, and Dawson give their all in bringing the fictional rock band off the comic panels and onto the big screen. Dawson, in particular, gives the most grounded performance as she struggles to accept the band’s growing fame. Her heartbreak can be felt when confronting a self-centered Josie caught up in going solo. Dawson’s natural delivery of expressing Valerie’s disappointment with the fractured band eclipses Cook’s off-balanced take on Josie as well as Reid simply being present for eye candy.
The biggest issue with Josie and the Pussycats is the mixed comedic tone. While it takes many cues from the Archie Comic and the classic Hanna-Barbara cartoon to attract a kid audience, the film’s writer/director duo of Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (Can’t Hardly Wait) often inject in a great deal of racy adult humor and profanity to appease the American Pie-centric crowd. Elfont reflected on the issue in a 2017 interview with BuzzFeed News, stating,
“We were in this world where we were only focused on the movie and this world and the jokes we were laughing at on set, and then they showed us the marketing materials and it was like, ‘Oh s—t, they’re going to sell this movie to 10-year-old girls.'”
Though it was not a box office hit at the time of release, Josie and the Pussycats has grown a cult fanbase over the years. Some of its enduring popularity can be attributed to Dawson’s growing fame, Posey’s stand-out performance, and the cool soundtrack. But it is the satirical take on consumerism and trend-setting influencers that make this picture more relevant today than it was in 2001.
Josie And The Pussycats
- Release Date
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April 6, 2001
- Runtime
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98 minutes
- Director
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Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan
- Writers
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Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, Richard Goldwater, Dan DeCarlo, John L. Goldwater
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