Josie And The Pussycats

A resounding flop when it was released, this is actually a quirky, fun flick about a teen girl band (think Spice Girls but with talent), which probably only failed because it poked fun at the pop industry while still being aimed at young female viewers – and as any parent knows, young girls do not have a sense of humour when it comes to their favourite pop bands.
When hot boy band Du Jour discover subliminal messages have been inserted in their music to encourage suggestible kids to buy stuff, they are bumped off by their manager, Wyatt (Alan Cumming, in a wonderfully seething performance). He and his boss, the bonkers Fiona (Parker Posey), need a replacement group and so they recruit rocker Josie (Cook), dopey Melody (Reid) and tough Valerie (Dawson) and turn them into the hugely successful Josie and the Pussycats. But will the girls stay friends when they hit the big time? And will they uncover Fiona and Wyatt’s evil scheme?
Bouncy, colourful and entertaining, this makes fun of the very industry it celebrates and in doing so becomes a delightful comic update of the 1970s comic book and cartoon show on which it is based. Younger girls won’t get the satirical references, of course, but they’ll enjoy the girls’ adventures and the infectious songs nonetheless.