Josie and the Pussycats

Boy band DuJour are MegaRecords' best-selling act. Unfortunately, they have just realised that subliminal messages are being slipped into their records, and they object - what about their artistic integrity? Neither the company not their manager care, so the band are left to die a death, quite literally. Unknowns The Pussycats are delighted to be signed up to replace them, at first oblivious to the music biz scheming going on around them.

There are a raft of wonderful characters in the film, from Josie (Rachel Leigh Cook) and the cute Pussycats (Tara Reed and Rasario Dawson) to Alan Cumming's campy bad guy manager. There are also cameos a-plenty, including the notorious Carson Daly. Accompanying the charming and energetic performances is surprisingly catchy music and eye-popping visuals that recapture the manic energy of The Monkees' TV show.

Josie and the Pussycats is based on a comic that was also a short-lived TV cartoon in the 1970s. In being updated, the original's hyper-hyper pop fluff has acquired a satirical edge. Ironically, the film is exactly what it proposes to take a swipe at: slick, shallow commericalist pop products - the product placement is so rampant and so utterly shameless it defies description. But it's also got a whole lot of spangly, bubbly pop exuberance. If you want fun, play with The Pussycats.

Carmel Snow