Josie And The Pussycats

With Jem And The Halograms opening this weekend, I thought I would take a look back at another live action movie based on an animated girl group that knew how to rock. I'm talking about 2001's Josie And The Pussycats.

Rachael Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson, and Tara Reid star as the cat eared rocker trio. After low paying gigs at the bowling alley, the three are discovered by Wyatt Frame, Alan Cumming, a hot shot record producer. He signs them to record deal and before the ink has time to dry, their music soars to the top of the charts. The three are suspicious of their instant fame, as they should be. Wyatt and his partner Fiona, Parker Posey, are hiding subliminal messages in the Pussycat's tunes. This is a practice they've done with all of their bands. When the band gets too close, they have them eliminated and move onto the next big thing.

I was fully expecting this to be a brain dead, teeny bopper vehicle, but it turned out to be a funny flick. The three leads are perfectly cast for their roles, even Reid who I'm not a fan of. Cumming and Posey are a lot of fun as the evil music mogels. And as an added bonus, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, and Donald Faison are hysterical in a cameo as a boy band.

The writing and directing team of Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan bring a lot of wit to the proceedings. They are kind of pros when it comes to bringing a tv classic to the big screen. They also penned A Very Brady Sequel and The Flintstones In Viva Rock Vegas. I won't hold that Flintstones movie against them. Especially since Josie And The Pussycats is so entertaining.

It is available on dvd.