Friday Hideaway Film Fest: Josie and the Pussycats

One of HERC's favorite new shows this summer has been Perception.  (Have you watched it yet?  It's on Monday evenings on TNT.)  It stars Eric McCormack ("Will" from Will & Grace) and Rachel Leigh Cook, who is one of HERC's favorite actresses ever since he first saw her in the video below.  HERC would like to see her replace the actress who plays "Lisbon" on The Mentalist.  Who's with him on that one?  No one?  Really?  Alrighty then.

HERC gives all credit to Rachel Leigh for keeping him off of heroin.  (Well, that and common sense.)  She is a vegetarian like HERC (hey, he eats vegetables - he just likes a little meat with them sometimes) and made at least two watchable big-screen films: She's All That and today's Film Fest featured title, Josie and the Pussycats.  (Did you just roll your eyes?)

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Released in April 2001 to mostly poor critical reviews and disappointing box-office numbers, HERC watches this film probably more than he should.  It is witty, sarcastic fun and is available in two flavors: the original theatrical PG-13 for "language and mild sensuality" and PG for "sensuality and language" - no joke!  If you watch it a kabajillion billion million few hundred times like HERC has, maybe you'll come to realize the film is a scathing indictment of the manufactured pop music industry and it's conspiratorial collusion with the military industrial complex.  Or maybe not.  (Maybe HERC should lay off the sweet tea for a day.)

HERC likes the movie, recommends the movie but he doesn't take it as seriously as this dude or this one.

There's even a loving fan page for the film HERE. But that isn't why the movie is here on the Friday Film Fest - it's the soundtrack, baby.

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The soundtrack went Gold, selling more than 500,000 copies.  The three females who played the group in the movie do not actually perform the songs but they did contribute backing vocals to some tracks according to a documentary on the DVD.  (Surely, HERC is not the only one who watches those bonus features?)  

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds produced both the movie and its soundtrack album which featured power-pop contributions from Adam Schlesinger (Fountains of Wayne), Jason Falkner, Matthew Sweet, Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go's) and Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) as well as Babyface himself.  (He also appeared in the movie as "The Chief" in the Behind The Music spoof of Captain & Tennille.)  Kay Hanley (Letters To Cleo) is the voice of "Josie".

Du Jour is the name of the boyband featured at the beginning of the movie.  None of the actors performed on the tracks credited to Du Jour on the soundtrack - lead vocals are handled Milli Vanilli style by John Stephan and J'son Thomas.  A "Travis McCoy" is also credited as providing vocals on the Du Jour tracks but HERC's crack team of researchers and investigators could not definitively prove that he is the one who went on to date Katy Perry and front Gym Class Heroes.

There are three covers included on the soundtrack: "Real Wild Child", "Money (That's What I Want)" and "Josie and the Pussycats Theme".  The soundtrack is unavailable via Spotify and Songza but several of the tracks are on YouTube courtesy of user felizzia93 so allow HERC to hook you up!