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Josie And The
Pussycats
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Why do so many rock stars die in plane crashes? Why does McDonalds sell so many hamburgers even though others have better burgers? Why do kids pay $100 and up for Nikes when other brands of sneakers can be bought for a fraction of that? And why do some bands become big stars when more talented groups wallow in obscurity? The answers to these and many more questions can be found in the latest rags to rich rock star movie “Josie and the Pussycats”.
And why does a CD that costs less than a dollar to produce cost $16.98 to buy? The record industry would have you believe that the money goes to the artists that create the music. In fact almost all musical artists receive less than a dollar per CD (usually much less). Microsoft was the latest company to be put on trial for monopolistic practices. In fact a far bigger monopoly is the record industry. They would have you believe that because there are several record labels there is no monopoly. If you believe this then go to any record store and tell them that you want Jennifer Lopez’s latest hit, but you don’t want it from Sony you want the CD produced by one of their competitors. By signing up artists to exclusive contracts the recording industry as a group maintains a monopoly on the music people want to buy.
What does this have to do with the movie I am supposedly reviewing? The point is that no one is more deserving of a comedic roasting than the recording industry. And this is done hilariously in Josie and the Pussycats. Since the well deserved success of “Something About Mary” we have seen a succession of comedies each trying to be higher on the gross out scale than the last. The problem is as they get grosser and grosser they also get less and less funny.
And now comes “Josie and the Pussycats”. No sex, almost no nudity, no bathroom humor, no gratuitous violence, so what is left? Lots of laughs, and a not so subtle message about the insidious influence of mass marketing on our lives.
Stephen Van Lydegraf
April 4, 2001