History Film / JosieAndThePussyCats

* CultSoundtrack: The soundtrack to the film, an AffectionateParody of PowerPop, PopPunk, and BoyBand tropes, is nowadays arguably more famous than the film itself.

* CoolLoser: The Pussycats at the beginning of the film. Yes, that's right. Rachael Leigh Cook, Creator/RosarioDawson and (pre-trainwreck) Tara Reid are presented as ''unpopular''. Gotta love Hollywood.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** In the first song the girls play in the movie ("Three Small Words," over the opening credits), there's a subtle line about looking like porn stars, and also the words "I'm a ten-ticket thrill-ride, don't you want to come inside?"
** The signs that Melody holds to promote the band leads to a car crash [[DistractedByTheSexy when the "cats" in Pussycats gets blocked]].
** "Backdoor Lover" is a rare example of a triple entendre. The song could just be about sneaking into your house at night for some nookie without your parents noticing, but it gets worse. A backdoor man is a term for someone who is conducting a surreptitious affair with someone who is already in an established relationship, and the song does indeed mention right at the start that the love is wrong, giving credence to this meaning as well. Worse, however, "backdoor lover" has quite another meaning as well, and the song mentions running hands over cheeks, lying on the bed looking up at the "moon", and of course "coming" in through the back door and from behind. And naturally, [[AmbiguouslyGay the song never actually gives any indication that the lover they're singing to is, in fact, female, and makes frequent references to their love being forbidden or seen as a sin.]] In fact, the full version of the song features the following line: "Most people use the front door/But that's never been my way/Just 'cause I slip in through the back/That doesn't make me...hey!"

** Some of the ProductPlacement is for the UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast (at the time [[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Sega's mascot]] had a [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog long-running comic from Archie]]) and Creator/CartoonNetwork (which aired reruns of the 1970s cartoon).

** "''[[Film/CharliesAngels Barrymore, Diaz & Liu]] to play Pussycats in Josie Movie!''"

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Du Jour, previously thought to be dead in a plane crash]], at the end. Subverted since, given they're badly injured, they can't really do anything, though their arrival does give Josie the opportunity to free Mel and Val.

** It turns out to be a major plot point because, as also (partly) explained in SubliminalAdvertising below, the United States government has conspired with the music industry to add subliminal messages as backing tracks to pop music in order to brainwash teenagers into buying consumer products (and other things, like how "Area 51 isn't real"), hence the over-the-top array of Product Placement throughout the film.

* ReunionRevenge: While no ClassReunion is featured in the film, when the girls who usually mocked Josie and her friends started worshipping them, Wyatt told them most people had to wait 10 years for [[ActorAllusion that kind]] [[Film/RomyAndMichelesHighSchoolReunion of revenge]].

* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]: Fiona and Wyatt do this to Du Jour and prepare to do this to the Pussycats. When Fiona explains the mass-brainwashing scheme to her tour group she states that the industry has been doing this for years-- they even created ''Behind the Music'' to explain the cover stories.

* HiddenDepths: Most of the members of Du Jour seem to have these: DJ's apparently into meditation, while Marco named his monkey Dr. Zaius (after a character from ''Film/PlanetOfTheApes''). [[spoiler: Les only survived the group's mass beatdown by the Metallica fans thanks to knowing the lyrics to "Enter Sandman" by heart.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Du Jour, previously thought to be dead in a plane crash]], at the end.

* Theoad: Alexandra, who doesn't do anything but tag along with her brother for unclear reasons; see below for her response. Josie ends up recruiting her to help after the PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure for lack of any other options.

* AnAesop... [[SpoofAesop or several dozen]]: "[[LampshadeHanging So, what's the moral of the story here]]? [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop Freaks should date other freaks]]?" "No, I think the moral of the story here is you should be happy with who you are. This whole time we've been spending all this money on expensive clothes trying to impress people, it never made ''me'' happy. No... no, oh my gosh, happiness is on the inside. I'm not ''this'', I'm not what I wear. ''I'm not what I wear!'' You should think about this."

* ALphaBitch: The unnamed ringleader of the GirlPosse who harasses Josie, Melody and Valerie early in the film, only to show up as (likely brainwashed) fans later on. Alexandra isn't this, however, since she apparently has no friends other than her brother and only makes the catty remarks out of jealousy.

* AsHimself: Creator/{{MTV}} VJs Carson Daly and Aries Spears make a brief appearance where they try to kill Melody and Valerie on a fake ''TRL'' set. The scene becomes funnier if you know that, at the time the film was made, [[RealitySubtext Carson was dating Tara Reid]]. [[Film/AmericanPie Eugene Levy]] also hosts the instructional video describing why SubliminalAdvertising is so important to the economy, and MTV News anchor Serena Altschul makes an appearance. ''Entertainment Tonight'' reporter Jann Carl also appears at the beginning interviewing Du Jour.

** [[spoiler:Wyatt]] and [[spoiler:Fiona]] both attended "Huntington Hills High School", the same school from the filmmakers' previous movie, ''Film/CantHardlyWait''.

** For example, in the scene where Fiona explains [[EvilPlan the goal]] of [=MegaRecords=], the message "''Film/CantHardlyWait'' is under-rated" scrolls by on the wall in the background. Both this film and ''Can't Hardly Wait'' were written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Other messages include "[[BreakingTheFourthWall This movie is brilliant]]" and "Are you thinking disposable?"

** For example, in the scene where Fiona explains [[EvilPlan the goal]] of [=MegaRecords=], the message "''Film/CantHardlyWait'' is under-rated" scrolls by on the wall in the background. Both this film and ''Can't Hardly Wait'' were written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont.

* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure

%%* [[HeKnowsTooMuch She Knows Too Much]]

* ThereAreNoParents: No parents in sight for any of the band members. It seems the girls are out of high school at least, but it's not clear if the house they're seen living in at the beginning is in fact theirs or not.

* PairTheSpares: Alexandra with [[spoiler:Du Jour's lead singer]].

* TakeOurWordForIt: We never actually ''see'' [[spoiler:Du Jour getting their asses kicked at the Metallica concert]], but judging by the full-body casts that're wearing (except for the guy who knew the words to "Enter Sandman" -- and even he's pretty messed up), we can only guess what happened.

* VehicularKidnapping: After discovering a cynical girl in the record store that seems immune to Mega Records' brainwashing, Wyatt none too subtly intones "[[Music/{{Nirvana}} Smells like]] [[WaxingLyrical teen spirit]]" into his jacket sleeve. Moments later, an overhead door flies open, the cynical girl gets grabbed by nameless mooks and tossed into a waiting van, and is then driven away. She's [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse never seen or heard from again]] in the film.

** [[spoiler:Wyatt]] and [[spoiler:Fiona]] both attended "Huntington High School", the same school from the filmmakers' previous movie, ''Film/CantHardlyWait''.

* AsHimself: Creator/{{MTV}} VJs Carson Daly and Aries Spears make a brief appearance where they try to kill Melody and Valerie on a fake ''TRL'' set. The scene becomes funnier if you know that, at the time the film was made, [[RealitySubtext Carson was dating Tara Reid]]. [[Film/AmericanPie Eugene Levy]] also hosts the instructional video describing why SubliminalAdvertising is so important to the economy, and MTV News anchor Serena Altschul makes an appearance.

* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Megarecords has one to determine all the latest trends and handle all the product placement. It's accessed when Fiona kits hidden buttons in her zen garden, causing her entire office to somehow travel like an elevator.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Du Jour shows up at the end having survived the plane crash... albeit horribly, horribly injured. Though it wasn't the crash that caused the injuries, they landed the plane safely.... in the parking lot of a Music/{{Metallica}} concert. The lead singer is the only one not in a full body cast, and that was only because he knew the lyrics Metallica's "Enter Sandman". When they attempt to stop Fiona's plot, they can barely move and one of them gets knocked over.]]

** Du Jour's pet monkey is named [[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes Dr Zaius]].

** The movie itself does this with one scene, where the words "''Josie and the Pussycats'' [[ShamelessSelfPromoter is the best movie ever]]!" are quickly flashed up on the screen and read out by Mr. Moviefone, with the words "Join the Army" in smaller print below.[[note]]That example is really more superliminal rather than subliminal. Creator/RogerEbert took the film to task for calling the hidden messages "subliminal" when they are in fact subaural.[[/note]]

* TokenRomance: Alan M. and Josie really do seem tacked onto the movie as an afterthought.

''Josie and the Pussycats'' is a 2001 film adapted from [[Comicbook/JosieAndThePussycats the comic of the same name]], starring Creator/RachaelLeighCook, Creator/RosarioDawson and Tara Reid. It is about the titular all-female rock band getting the deal of a lifetime after struggling as an indie band -- a record deal with [=MegaRecords=], one of the largest music labels in the world.

* AsHimself: Creator/{{MTV}} VJ Carson Daly makes a brief appearance where he tries to kill Melody and Valerie on a fake ''TRL'' set. The scene becomes funnier if you know that, at the time the film was made, [[RealitySubtext Carson was dating Tara Reid]]. [[Film/AmericanPie Eugene Levy]] also hosts the instructional video describing why SubliminalAdvertising is so important to the economy, and MTV News anchor Serena Altschul makes an appearance.
* AsideGlance: Upon 'discoering' the Pussycats, Wyatt gives one of the smuggest [[AsideGlance Aside Glances]] in cinematic history

** It turns out to be a major plot point because, as also (partly) explained in SubliminalAdvertising below, the United States government has conspired with the music industry to add subliminal messages as backing tracks to pop music in order to brainwash teenagers into buying consumer products, hence the over-the-top array of Product Placement throughout the film.

** "Smells like teen spirit" is the title of {{Music/Nirvana}}'s best known song