Josie and the Pussycats (Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, 2001)
Tara Reid, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Rosario Dawson in Josie and the Pussycats
Cast: Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Gabriel Mann, Paulo Costanzo, Missi Pyle, Alan Cumming, Parker Posey, Tom Butler, Donald Faison, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, Alexander Martin, Serena Altschul, Carson Daly, Aries Spears, Eugene Levy. Screenplay: Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont. Cinematography: Matthew Libatique. Production design: Jasna Stefanovic. Film editing: Peter Teschner. Music: John Frizzell.
A “cult film” is any movie that didn’t make it on the first theatrical release but later gained a huge following, either in theatrical re-release or TV and video. The reason often given for the initial failure is the mass incomprehension of film critics, but also the failure of marketing to target the right audience. In the case of Josie and the Pussycats it’s a bit of both. In the case of the critics, a typical reaction might be Roger Ebert’s decidedly thumbs-down comment, “The movie is a would-be comedy about prefab bands and commercial sponsorship, which may mean that the movie’s own plugs for Coke, Target, Starbucks, Motorola and Evian are part of the joke.” Is there a better example of seeing the point but not getting it? The central irony in the theatrical failure of Josie and the Pussycats is that it was a blatant satire of marketing that failed because of poor marketing: It was targeted to the wrong audiences. Instead of hip audiences like, say, viewers of Saturday Night Live, it was marketed to the teens and pre-teens who are the vehicle for its satire. Now, granted, I don’t think it’s a particularly good satire. It’s silly where it should be edgy and a bit too loud and obvious. The comparatively novice writer-directors, Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, have allowed skilled comic actors like Alan Cumming and Parker Posey to play too far over the top. But I do endorse what it’s doing with its product-placement overkill, and maybe it made a few in its audience aware of how they’re being manipulated. Or as Josie (the very good Rachael Leigh Cook) puts it, “Oh my god, I’m a trend pimp!"
