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Josie and the Pussycats
Universal Pictures

Josie and the Pussycats reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 47 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.6 out of 10
based on 29 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 33 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for language and sensuality

Starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Parker Posey, Alan Cumming, and Gabriel Mann

In this live-action comedy based on the Archie comic book, Josie (Cook), Melody (Reid) and Val (Dawson) are life-long friends from Riverdale determined to take their band out of the garage and into the stratosphere - while staying true to their own look, style and sound. (Universal Pictures)


GENRE(S): Musical  
WRITTEN BY: Harry Elfont
Deborah Kaplan
(characters) Richard H. Goldwater, Dan DeCarlo, Dan Decarol
John L. Goldwater
 
DIRECTED BY: Harry Elfont
Deborah Kaplan
 
RELEASE DATE: DVD: August 14, 2001 
Video: August 14, 2001 
Theatrical: April 11, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Variety Joe Leydon
Sensationally exuberant, imaginatively crafted and intoxicatingly clever.
Read Full Review
75
Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
A comic-book rock band starring in a film that actually makes a point? Now that's something worth singing about.
75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
Mindless glitz-o-ramas don't get any snazzier.
75
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The action is as perky as the main characters.
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70
TV Guide Frank Lovece
That rare film aimed at teenage girls that's still enjoyable for grownup viewers.
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70
Village Voice Jane Dark
The excellently irrelevant music is played by excellently irrelevant real-life rockers.
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70
LA Weekly Chuck Wilson
A surprisingly smart satire around the bubble-gum band that first found life in the pages of the Archie comic book series.
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67
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The movie's got bounce. Spanked along by a soundtrack that has a surprising punky bite for something aimed at 13-year-olds.
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67
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
It's a silly, goofball romp, sure, but this newfangled Josie rocks far harder than her predecessor.
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65
Mr. Showbiz Kevin Maynard
Dippy, funny, and fast-paced enough to be a guilty pleasure.
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63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
More fun than you'd expect from an adaptation of a '60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon that was in turn derived from a comic book.
63
Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey
Follows its heroines' rise and wising-up with a giddy, "Hard Day's Night" enthusiasm.
60
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
Light and frothy though all this is, there is an off-putting element to "Josie," and it's what must be the film's world record number of product placements.
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60
Rolling Stone Peter Travers
Harmless girlie trifle. Or at least it means to be.
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60
Slate David Edelstein
Even if you find the satire in Josie and the Pussycats self-serving, you might still love the movie, buy the soundtrack, and surrender to the hype. That's what happened to me.
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50
Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek
Would be more fun if it were either more shameless or more principled in the bad-girl way, taking a stance on the value of artistry and attitude over commerce.
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50
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It’s a big, frothy, high-tech, cutesy-poo musical comedy.
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50
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
A new millennium version of "A Hard Day's Night" without any wit to balance the silliness.
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50
San Francisco Chronicle Wesley Morris
What should have been 90 zippy minutes of jingling, giggling, winking fakery adds up to only about 20 minutes of fun.
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50
Miami Herald Sara Wildberger
A fair weekend distraction for 10-year-old girls.
50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
One long camp joke, with vamped scenes strung together.
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40
Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan
Cumming manages to keep the film's pandering in check with every wicked raised eyebrow.
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40
Film.com Sean Means
Fails as a movie, it works OK as a long-form video.
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38
USA Today Susan Wloszczyna
The concept is so hypocritical, it's like Britney Spears calling Christina Aguilera underdressed and overexposed.
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12
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Josie and the Pussycats are not dumber than the Spice Girls, but they're as dumb as the Spice Girls, which is dumb enough.
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10
New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
An antiadvertisement for itself.
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10
Washington Post Rita Kempley
The fat cats of Hollywood have coughed up a hairball.
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10
The New York Times A.O. Scott
Few people other than future airline passengers should be subjected to such misery.
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10
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
The insultingly trendy post-postmodern tale rationalizes its own product placement by using overkill.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 8.6 (out of 10) based on 33 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kelsey X gave it a10:
I first saw this movie when I was 9 years old. I fell instantly in love. The soundtrack is totally catchy and the girls have great chemistry together. I feel the movie would have seen more success had it been given a PG rating, as it really did appeal to younger than 13. I still frequently watch it now, but mostly because it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. The language isn't too bad, and don't worry, your little girls won't get the sexual references. I know I didn't (until I was older anyways). It's good fun for the pre-teen crowd, and the music is fun and clean too.

Luke K. gave it a10:
Rachael leigh cook rocks.

Yoon Min C. gave it a 6:
Movies like this work best when lighthearted and silly and tend to bog down when something resembling a plot and rudimentary character development start taking shape. Still, the movie's episodic and spontaneously silly enough to be a decent airhead comedy.

Linda G. gave it a 10:
I love this movie I love the music in it....I just love it...=)

Jenna L. gave it a 10:
I love this movie! And if Josie reads this I just want to say, I totally look up to you you are so cool!!I love Melody and Valery too!

Chris M. gave it a 10:
I love this movie! All of the actors and actresses rocked. The music rocked the plot rocked it IS my favorite movie IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT YET GO SEE IT!!! its an awesome movie find a video dvd, download it tape it off starz its so good!!!!!

Cindy R. gave it a 10:
Seth Green is sooooooooooooooo hot. I'm gonna marry Seth Green!

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