Josie and the Pussycats (PG-13 Version)

Rating:
Summary: Smarter than you think
Review: This movie is a lot of fun, and much smarter than some people will give it credit for. Great comedic performances by Alan Cumming and Parker Posey, who between them chew enough scenery to create a soundstage. And the Pussycats are genuinely fun, hot babes: it's not Rachel Leigh Cook who steals the show as Josie, but Tara Reid, whose giggly blondeness recalls a "Laugh-In" era Goldie Hawn. Lots of great in-jokes (get the PG-13 version), totally "jerkin'" costumes, a few catchy songs ... and yes, all those product placements. (Hint: spotting them makes a great, if fast-moving, drinking game!) If it's not the "Heathers" of the 00's, it's almost the "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun".

Rating:
Summary: Long tailes, and ears for hats!
Review: So sue me. I absolutely loved this movie and the music was great (except for Du Jour :) The punkish remake of the cartoon song is just out of this world. This may be mindless fun, but it's fun, and was a pleasure to watch. Good R&R, over-the-top story played toungue in cheek, and the band was cute. What more do you want from a movie based on a cartoon from the 70's.

Rating:
Summary: Not-so-subliminal Message: This Movie Sucks
Review: "Josie & The Pussycats" is a facile, lame-brained "satire" of pop music commercialism that gets crushed by its own bizarre stupidity. Co-writers/co-directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont overstuffed the script with 1,000,001 random "jokes", slipped in a few bare-bones "plot" details, and ended up with a movie that feels like a horrific, nonsensical drug trip brought on by a dangerous mix of heroin, speed and sugar. For every minor chuckle, there are at least 100 misfired gags, and Parker Posey scores the only real guffaws with her odd, stress-induced lisping. And, just out of curiosity, if "Josie" is so anti-commercialism, then why didn't it just make up sponsors instead of cramming it with real ones, ironically turning itself into the kind of soulless product it was "criticizing"? Who knows? Who cares? Avoid this movie!