This week, Mark Harrison from Film Stories and VODzilla returns to the podcast to talk all things Josie & The Pussycats. Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont’s Archie Comics-derived spoof was received poorly on its initial release – yikes – twenty years ago, but with Riverdale and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina revitalising the source material and Framing Britney Spears turning the world’s eyes back to the turn-of-the-millennium celebrity landscape, there’s no better time to reconsider its beguiling mix of vicious industry satire and affectionate character comedy.
Under consideration: the film’s totally jerkin’ soundtrack, the divergent future careers of the film’s central trio of Rachel Leigh Cook, Rosario Dawson and Tara Reid, the many reasons why it might have failed at the box office – including a Simpsons episode that coincidentally pre-empted one of its central gags – and the link between this film and Salman Rushdie that you never knew existed.
In the spirit of this film’s infamously blunt product placement, we’re not hiding the fact that we’re begging for money at Patreon – though we do give you plenty in return, including a monthly newsletter, a bonus Pop Screen episode and a whole exclusive extra podcast. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, too.
“In February, Mark Cunliffe joined the podcast to review That’ll Be the Day, a low budget film starring David Essex as wannabe rock star Jim MacLaine. It was a gritty, down-to-earth take on the early days of rock and roll – certainly, you’d never expect it to have a lavish sequel shot by Nicolas Roeg’s regular cinematographer where MacLaine becomes a megastar, goes to LA and alienates all his old friends while making a prog opera about womanhood“.
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