Josie and the Pussycats film review

certificate_PG

JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS

Gaining that first foothold on the stairway to success in the music industry can be a tricky business. The Pussycats are a funky rock three-piece from Riverdale determined to take their music out of their garage and into the charts.

Lead singer and guitarist Josie (Cook), bassist Val (Dawson) and drummer Melody (Reid) aren't cool or trendy - nor for that matter are their songs, but they have a great deal of heart. The girls' luck changes when they run into oily talent scout Wyatt Frame (Cumming), a protege of infamous, domineering MegaRecords CEO Fiona (Posey).

He offers them a record contract and riches beyond their wildest dreams. It's a fairy tale come true - stadium concerts beckon and the girls' image is plastered over the front cover of Rolling Stone.

But Fiona and Wyatt are hiding a dark secret - they have planted subliminal messages on the CDs, and that's the only reason the fans are flocking to the record stores in their thousands.

Inspired by the Archie comic book series of the same name, Josie And The Pussycats is a lamentably unfunny teen comedy with designs to be this year's Clueless. Alas, when it comes to winning the audience's heart, the film is completely clueless, casting three actresses who never once gel.

Leigh Cook's comic timing is ever so slightly off and Reid's sweet-but-dippy routine wears thin very quickly.

Dawson plays it straight and emerges with her dignity mostly intact - unlike Cumming and Posey who compete with one another for the most flamboyant supporting turn.

Still, the three leads look glorious and strum convincingly in the recording studio and concert sequences (a little more lip-synching practice wouldn't have gone amiss though).

Out-takes during the closing credits suggest that cast and crew had a hoot putting the pic together. It's a shame that some of that good humour and team spirit didn't seep in front of the cameras.