"Josie And The Pussycats" Is The Best Movie Of The 2000s And It's Time We Give It Some Damn Respect

    A totally jerkin' cultural reset!

    by
    Ehis Osifo
    by Ehis Osifo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    ,
    Shelby Heinrich
    by Shelby Heinrich

    BuzzFeed Staff

    Hello, interwebs! We are Ehis and Shelby, and we are 100% obsessed with the critically under-acclaimed and HIGHLY underrated Josie and the Pussycats (2001, dir. Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan).

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    Yes, this movie came out 19 years ago, but we still feel just as strongly about it! So, we’re here to tell YOU about how amazing this movie is and by the end, you will agree that this glorious piece of cinema should be appreciated by ALL!

    So, here are all the reasons why JATP is the best and it's time we all give it the respect it deserves:

    1. Josie and the Pussycats was a cautionary tale about the harmfulness of consumerism. The moral of the story is to ~be yourself~.

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    2. The songs were fucking bops!

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    Of course they were, the lead singer of Letters to Cleo sang them.

    3. In addition to the music, the music montages in the movie are *chef's kiss*.

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    "You're a Star," "Pretend to Be Nice," and "Three Small Words" were collectively a cultural reset.

    4. The fashion was haute couture — every 2000s girl WISHED they looked as good as Josie, Melody, and Val.

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    They actually made us want low-rise jeans in the year 2020.

    5. Not to mention, the MAKEUP. Is it a lil' dated? Yes. Does it still look fire? Yes.

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    Euphoria would be NOTHING without Josie and the Pussycats.

    6. OK, now let's talk about the content. First of all, this movie was meta as HECK.

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    7. Also, this movie is low-key hilarious.

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    The genre of the movie is a "musical comedy," but the comedy is just as A+ as the music.

    8. It has a totally stacked cast, complete with iconic cameos.

    Rachel Leigh Cook. Alan Cumming. Parker Posey. Tara Reid. Rosario Dawson. Gabriel Mann. Missi Pyle. Eugene Levy. Donald Faison. Seth Green. Breckin Meyer. Justin Chatwin. Carson Daly. STACKED, I TELL YOU! STACKED.

    9. The movie highlighted female friendship and empowerment and passed the ever-so-difficult Bechdel test.

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    In case you're unaware, to pass the Bechdel test, a film has to have more than two female characters who have a single conversation that doesn't revolve around men. You'd be surprised how few movies pass this test, and JatP passed with flying colors...in 2001!

    10. Like, not to get all ~film school~ on y'all, but we wanna touch on Melody's character and how subversive she was.

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    Like, on the surface, she's a "dumb blonde," but she's never treated as such and her positive attributes are highlighted more than her negative ones.

    11. And also, how iconic Parker Posey's performance was as Fiona.

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    Parker Posey was BORN to play Fiona. Even though she allegedly struggled with the role, her characterization was absolutely hilarious and she literally stole every scene she was in. Also, remember when she invented fashion with this feather look???

    12. And lastly, it's SUPER quotable.

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    Josie and the Pussycats is honestly up there with movies like Mean Girls and Bring It On in terms of quotability. "Jerkin" walked so "Fetch" could fly, TBH.

    BRB, off to watch this movie and stream the soundtrack for the 48,737,358th time!