Review of Josie and the Pussycats (2001) by Zoran S — 16 Jun 2011

Horrid. One would think that a film that toothlessly tries to satirize crass commercialism via a subliminal message story-line, which is half stolen from the superior They Live, wouldn't need to cram so many shots full of product placements.

But since the filmmakers exude cheap postmodern sarcasm, self-reflexivity is substituted for genuine insight and corporatism still wins out. Target, no doubt, is happy with the film since their logo appears in what seems like half the shots.

The plot revelation at the end, where we learn why the corporatist record executives engage in subliminal advertising in the first place, is especially lame: You see they just wanted to be accepted as people rather than, you know, accumulate capital and profit! So much for anti-commercialism and anti-consumerism then.

Everybody gets to be an individual who chooses to accept whatever whenever he/ she wants, or so is the message Josie gives during her Kodak sponsored concert.