The latest fashion trends, designer labels and status symbols mean nothing to Josie McCoy (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody Valentine (Tara Reid) and Valerie Brown (Rosario Dawson). They are more interested in creating their own home-grown rocker chic fashions and singing their own kind of rock music from their garage, while dreaming that one day they will make it big. When they are "discovered" by band manager Wyatt Frame (Alan Cumming), who instantly delivers a recording contract with Mega Records, it looks as if Josie and The Pussycats are on their way to the top. Before long, the girls have the number one single in the country, but they soon begin to suspect foul play.
Realising they are pawns in an evil attempt by the record label's maniacal CEO Fiona (Parker Posey), to control the youth of the USA, the girls vow to clear their names... and kick some major corporate butt while they're at it!
Special Agent Matti
The Spice Girls.
Can you think of any other all-girl manufactured musical phenomenon to sweep the world?
As for the rest of the film, well, it's a little bit like reading a copy of your little sister's favourite magazine: Girlfriend. Hair and clothes that only a 13-year-old can wear, vapid and mindless adolescents with too much money and too many malls, pink lipstick. Not that Josie and the Pussycats isn't fun, but I dosn't see anyone over the age of consent feeling all that inspired after watching it. There's some great product placement, it's in almost every scene, but after a while it becomes more interesting to see which brand is being plugged and how they're doing it.
There's a blatant moral to the story, but the X and Nintendo generations are not so naïve as to be unaware of trends and the companies that drive them.
PG (Medium level violence, sexual references, low level coarse language)
94 minutes (1:34 hours)
DVD rental: 4 January 2002
VHS rental: 4 January 2002
DVD retail: 16 January 2002
VHS retail: 8 May 2002
