10 Incredible Movie Parodies Nobody Noticed

4. Josie & The Pussycats

The Big Lebowski
MGM

2001's musical comedy Josie and the Pussycats was met with a tremendously muted critical and commercial reception upon initial release, with Roger Ebert famously panning it in a half-star review.

Yet its esteem has grown considerably in recent years as more audiences came to appreciate it as both a satire of consumerism and a parody of soulless, manufactured pop music, in addition to 1990s culture in general.

In much the same way that viewers of the era somehow failed to appreciate that Starship Troopers was thumbing its nose at fascism, far too many took Josie and the Pussycats at face value and dismissed it as a goofy musical comedy filled with dumb songs and excessive product placement.

To modern eyes, with so much distance from the '90s, it seems impossible to view Josie as anything less than a scorched Earth parody, yet back when the movie needed support from audiences upon release, they totally spaced on its smarter ideas.

Contributor
Contributor

Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes). General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.