We’re returning to the pop landscape of the early 2000s this week, a pop landscape that had your host Graham wondering whether there was any point being a pop cartographer any more. The dominant feature of said landscape was TV talent shows, usually run by either Simon Cowell or his Salieri, Simon Fuller, the latter of whom masterminded this week’s film. A modern-day beach party movie starring first-season American Idol finalists Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson, From Justin to Kelly was legendarily unsuccessful, but that doesn’t mean returning co-host Jeff hasn’t got a bagful of fascinating trivia about it.
Said trivia includes Guarini’s history in musical theatre, the film’s epic director’s cut, and a subplot removed from the third act that could have led to the film getting a very different reception. We also talk about the film’s odd, PG-certificate vision of teen debauchery, the possible membership of the Pennsylvania Posse, the film’s inability to remember if its musical numbers are diegetic or not, and the previous CV of writer Kim Fuller. Yes relation.
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