It's a silly, goofball romp, sure, but this newfangled Josie rocks far harder than her predecessor, thanks to Letters to Cleo frontwoman Kay Hanley, who provides the awesomely poppy soundtrack. It's fun in all the right places. The impossibly cute Cook is garage-rock phenom Josie, with Reid as the ditzy drummer Melody and Dawson as bass babe Val. Actually, as the film opens, they're less phenoms than first-year SXSW wannabes, rocking out at empty bowling alleys and staging impromptu street jams in a desperate bid to attract attention.
Girls just wanna have fun, but bad girls just wanna be loved, apparently.
The whole film is basically one long, extended riff on the perils of conformity and why shopping at the Gap is lame, lame, lame. This is, of course, a borderline revolutionary concept in the world of teen-aimed movies, which typically tow the party line and have their characters scarfing at Mickey D's and gulping Pepsis like they were liquid ecstasy. Josie and Pussycats, on the other hand, not only bites the hands that feed, it manages to make the whole ludicrous situation tremendously fun in the bargain. Austin Chronicle Corp. All rights reserved.