Directed by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan
Written by Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan

Characters by Richard H. Goldwater, Dan DeCarlo, Dan Decarol and John L. Goldwater

Rachael Leigh Cook .... Josie McCoy
Tara Reid .... Melody Valentine
Rosario Dawson .... Valerie Brown
Alan Cumming .... Wyatt Frame
Parker Posey .... Fiona
Gabriel Mann .... Alan M.
Paulo Costanzo .... Alexander Cabot
Missi Pyle .... Alexandra Cabot
Tom Butler .... Agent Kelly
Faedragh Carpenter .... Teenage Fan

Produced by Tony DeRosa-Grund (producer), Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (executive producer), Tracey E. Edmonds (producer), Grace Gilroy (co-producer), Richard Goldwater (executive producer), Chuck Grimes (producer), Marc E. Platt (producer), Michael Silberkleit (executive producer)
Original music by John Frizzell
Cinematography by Matthew Libatique
Film Editing by Peter Teschner

Rated PG-13 for language and sensuality.

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Music From the Motion Picture
Josie And The Pussycats
Various Artists - Soundtrack
1. 3 Small Words 2. Pretend To Be Nice 3. Spin Around 4. You Don't See Me 5. You're A Star 6. Shapeshifter 7. I Wish You Well 8. Real Wild Child 9. Come On 10. Money (That's What I Want) 11. Dujour Around The World 12. Backdoor Lover 13. Josie And The Pussycats

SYNOPSIS:
The latest fashion trends, designer labels and status symbols mean nothing to Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody (Tara Reid) and Val (Rosario Dawson). They are more interested in creating their own home-grown rocker chic fashions and singing their own kind of rock music from their garage, while dreaming that one day they will make it big. When they are "discovered" by a band manager Wyatt (Alan Cumming), who instantly delivers a recording contract with Mega Records, it looks as if Josie and the Pussycats are on their way to the top. Before long, the girls have the number one single in the country, but they soon begin to suspect foul play. Realizing they are pawns in an evil attempt by the record label's maniacal CEO Fiona (Parker Posey), to control the youth of America, the girls vow to clear their names.and kick some major corporate butt while they're at it!

Universal Pictures' Josie and the Pussycats, an irreverent live-action comedy based on the popular Archie comic book, skewers our consumer-obsessed pop culture while featuring an all new power pop music soundtrack from some of the music industry's hottest names.

This is not a heavy film. It is rather light hearted with a simple plot: A going-no-where girl band suddenly finds itself at the top of the charts. They soon realize that the US Government has placed subliminal messages in their CDs. The Government is out to control the youth of America. The messages made people buy the CDs!

The humorous thing to me was not that the government is trying to control the youth through subliminal messages -but that the film was one huge commercial for corporate America. It is corporate America that uses subliminal messages -not the government. As you watch the film notice all the not so subliminal corporate messages for:
Target Superstores -an entire plane is decorated with the bullseye logo,
Philips Electronics,
Starbucks Coffee -everyone seems to drink it in this film,
Motorola,
Rollingstone Magazine,
Evian bottled water -when they don't drink Starbucks they drink this,
McDonalds -oh my gosh throughout the entire film, it's frightening,
Street Wear,
Revlon -see how they use subliminal below,
Kodak -they must have spent big bucks to get in this film,
Sega,
Ford -see how they use subliminal below,
and the list goes on!

These corporations paid big bucks to be in this film. And then we pay movie ticket money to view their not so subliminal mind altering commercial plugs in the film.

I even think the whole film was a clothing commercial aimed at young women. I cannot think of any recent film where I was hit with more "fashion statements" than this one.

Films have power. When Clark Gable took his shirt off in IT HAPPENED ON NIGHT (1939) and revealed he wasn't wearing any undershirt, sales on undershirts dropped 30%. And when Kim Basinger wore a sexy black slip in 9 1/2 WEEKS (1986), Marshall Fields department store could not keep enough black slips in stock.

Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, who wrote and directed this spoof as a labor of love -I am sure, must have lined their pockets with a lot of money from corporate sponsors who truly do want to control our minds in order to get at our pocket books.

It is fun to watch this film and count all the times you see Evian, Target, and McDonald's. Mind benders at work. I had a Pepsi and stopped by Burger King in protest on the way home. And then I wondered -had I been programmed?

Oh my gosh, can anyone save us from the effects of free enterprise, commercialism and capitalism gone amok?

We all have been programmed. We all have been seduced! Did you know Americans drink more soda pop than tap water? We have been influenced beyond what we are willing to admit.

We are prisoners of our culture. It will take God himself to get us out of this mess. Believe me, the second coming is a good thing.

Below are some RealVideo clips on how subliminal messages work.

Click picture to see where subliminal suggestions were placed in this ad for Ford.

Click picture to see how subliminal suggestions were placed in two makeup ads from Revlon.

Click picture to see how women are manipulated in advertising.

To see how men are manipulated click here

BEST BAND EVER
Subject: Josie_and_the_Pussycats
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2002
From: BloNd PuNk StaR

josie and the pussycats was the best band ever. me and my friends even nick name ourselves after them. You dont make up your mind whether you like it or not from the critics before you have even seen it. It gave a positive message throughout the whole movie.
1. put friends first
2. be happy with who you are.
3. the govt. does try to munipulate teens
the movie was great, and your dissing an actors time and hard work into the movie.

A LITTLE CONNECTION
Subject: Josie_and_the_Pussycats
Date: Sun, 04 Nov 2001
From: Christian Ziebarth

Dear David, It was mentioned on the DVD commentary that the makers of the movie did not get paid for any of the product placement in the movie. True, they may have got permission but they did not get money (if they didn't even get permission I certainly never heard of any lawsuits against them). There is a difference. They thought people would understand the joke of product placement run amok by taking the joke obviously too far but the joke was misunderstood. Additionally, the product placement was rather overt and not very subliminal at all.

While I am a Josie and the Pussycats fan Christ is infinitely more important to me, but I don't see conspiracy where there is none.

By the way, I noticed you can make money through Amazon's Associate program when people click on the link on your site to purchase Josie products. Right now I feel strangely compelled to go buy the "Chile Today, Hot Tamale" video. I already own the "Melody Memory Mix-up" one.
Sincerely, Christian Ziebarth

EXCUSE ME?
Subject: Josie_and_the_Pussycats
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001
From: Matt

I just have a short message. There was no money exchange for all of the logo's in the film, it was a very bad joke the dirctors added. It was to show how corparate america putts it logo's every where and over uses them way too much. -Matt

Response: Trademarks can not be used without permission. Companies have a vested interest in their image. This is a money issue. -David

HUGH DISAPPOINTMENT
Subject: Josie and the Pussycats
Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2001
From: "amber triemstra"

Josie and the Pussycats was a huge disappointment. It is basically about three girls who end up making it big and find out that the record label and the government is sending subliminal messages to the youth of America. I found it highly annoying; it seemed to be one big really bad dumb blonde joke that just doesn't end. It was filled with advertising and bad lines, "'Why are you here?' 'I was in the comic'". It kind of seemed the movie was trying to get us to buy stuff from Target and McDonalds, all the while telling us advertising bad. The movie was like one big ad. The different corporations endorsing the movie had ads all over the movie, the plane decorated with the target logo and everybody was drinking Starbucks through out the whole thing. The ideally message is good: the media is controlling us, but how it was presented and the format of it was bad. I came out of the theatre irritated and thinking 'I never want to wear pink again'. I would not recommend this movie to someone. I went to see it because I read the comic when i was younger, it was a huge disappointment. It was just really trite. It also kind of made the all teenagers look stupid. We aren't as stupid as some people think. We get that the media wants us to buy their products and that it is mostly focused at us. We understand that fact and some of us don't buy into what the media wants us to.
by amber triemstra

SATANIC HEADSETS
Subject: Josie_and_the_Pussycats
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2001
From: Artie

I just wanted to respond to the SATANIC HEADSETS post. Please tell me you're joking. Are you insane? Why has the Christian sub-culture produced this kind of silliness? I really...well...don't know what to say other than "wow."

WE HAVE ALL BEEN PROGRAMED
Subject: We all have been programed. We all have been seduced!
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001
From: Daniel

We all have been programed. We all have been seduced! Yes, David, and this programming and seduction INCLUDES the way you have been programmed to be a Jesus freak and I to be a Jewish freak. Yes. I have a feeling that you and I are from the same gen, and have much in common, only that our programming as kids was different. BUT if you agree that the corporate world is programming us, have you ever thought that religion also programs us? In that case, while yr heart is in the right place, the concept of God is just nice product placement and has nothing to do with reality. CAn you deal with that? Answer me that.
DAN in Taiwan

Response: God is like Coke? A product? Hmm. Well, God can be marketed like Coke. But still, God is God -a class all by itself.

SATANIC HEADSETS
Subject: God got his viewpoint in this one!
Date: Sun, 15 Apr 2001
From: NL

It particularly suggests that could be the case with all these "Virtual Reality"(VI) headsets that all the concert goers use to listen to Josie's concert at the end. It seems to suggest that Satan may be using VI as his tool for subliminal programming. I have heard that to be the case. One acquaintance says he will never wear those VI headsets. And I don't think that I will either.
NL

Response: Are you serious? I hope not.