Josie And The Pussycats (2001)

(In theaters, June 2001) At its worst, this film features a bland romance, trite situations and a cliché music-group-film structure that will leave you indifferent. At its best, however, we get roughly the equivalent of a live-action Simpsons episode, with clever sight gags, off-the-wall plot developments, meta-fictional jokes and a subversive anti-commercialistic message that will make you blink twice in audacity. Unfortunately, not everything gels together: While the film preaches a rejection of labels and trends, it pushes so many brand names -in an unabashed in-your-face fashion- that the joke sours to the point where we’re never too sure if they mean it or not. There is a place for fake (even parodic) brands, and this film was it. Fortunately, I’m such an easily-swayed guy that the three lead actresses alone were enough to make me rush out to buy the soundtrack.