April 16, 2001 -- "Josie and the Pussycats" is a clever little film based on characters originally introduced in 1963 "Archie" comic books, followed by an animated TV series running from 1970-72. The movie takes the story way beyond that to poke fun at pop culture and the commercialization of everything.

One of the ways the film satirizes commercialization is to put as much product placement in the film as possible. It may set some kind of record for product placements. In one scene, two characters stand in front of a large fish tank at an aquarium. Inside the tank, but clearly visible to viewers through the glass and water is a sign advertising a brand of bottled water. In another scene, a character is taking a shower, all over the walls of the shower are the recognizable logos of a popular burger chain. Two interior shots of corporate jets are plastered with different corporate logos which have nothing to do with the company that owns the jet.

The whole idea of subliminal advertising (sounds or images just below the level of conscious perception causing an alteration in shopping, or other behavior) is, of course, an urban legend. No one has ever been able to demonstrate that this kind of advertising works (see the Urban Legends homepage for more information on this). It turns out that sounds or images you don't notice, are, for the most part, just that, images and sounds you don't notice. You don't notice them and you don't act on them.

In this movie, however, you have to suspend your disbelief and pretend that subliminal advertising does work and that it is part of an insidious megalomaniacal plot to pervert the purity of rock and roll music. O.K., you can stop laughing now. Since Brittany and Christina are belting out pop tunes for colas and Bob Seger is selling Chevy trucks like a rock and practically every song from the 60's accompanies some TV advertisement, pop music is already heavily commercialized. It is all part of the joke. In fact, real life is even worse than it is in this movie. In some restaurants you can't even get away from advertisements when you go to the rest room. There are ads in toilet stalls, over urinals, advertising in the sound system. It is everywhere.

The idea that music is a pure art form rather than the commercial enterprise it really is, is the naive view of Josie McCoy (played by Rachael Leigh Cook of "Get Carter"), Melody Valentine (Tara Reid of "American Pie") and Valerie Brown (Rosario Dawson of "Down to You"). They are Josie and the Pussycats, a rock band just barely getting by. All of a sudden, a smooth-talking record company executive named Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming of "Spy Kids") signs them up to a record contract without ever hearing them play. To Frame and his sinister boss, Fiona (Parker Posey of "Best in Show"), talent is irrelevant. All it takes to be a star is marketing. Frame is looking for someone who won't ask any questions. Again, this is like real life. Such bands are, and have been, thrown together and made into stars with the aid of some creative marketing for purposes only peripherally related to music.

The main part of the film is devoted to following Josie and her friends as they try to uncover and stop this sinister plot. It is all very silly and funny enough in places. The movie is rated PG-13, but it is a very mild PG-13. The only thing the slightest bit naughty about it is a trick used when a "honk if you love the Pussycats" sign is partially obscured by a tree for a few seconds hiding the last part of a word. There's no sex, and very little bad language or violence.

The screenplay and direction by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (both wrote "Can't Hardly Wait") is competent, as is the acting. The film tries to split the difference between a child's sensiblities and an adult's cynicism. It doesn't quite work either way, but it is close. The production design by Jasna Stefanovic ("The Virgin Suicides") and art direction by Kelvin Humenny ("Best in Show") is outstanding. The film uses a lot of bright colors, especially pinks to create a decadent look right out of the 1970s or perhaps the disco era. The sets have a plastic, tacky look to them that is just right. The sinister control center of Mega Records has a nice metallic, cold, antiseptic look to it. The whole visual style of the film complements its anti-commercial subtext. The music is O.K. This film rates a C+.

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