I’m about to give this movie more promotion just by writing this review and that fact hurts my heart. Though, I am compelled to share my thoughts on an experience that upon seeing, I mistakenly labeled my least favorite a24 movie.
It’s December 31st, 1999. The world is an easier place where pop culture in all of its forms are enmeshed into society. Two best friends, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) take a break from playing GoldenEye, going to video stores, and making mix CDs to attend the cool kids New Years Eve party. Eli really wants to make a good impression on his long-time crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler) and hopes for that New Years’ kiss. Well… the clock strikes midnight and every appliance in the world comes to life and seeks to kill the partygoers (and the world at large).
If you choose to see Y2K, I’ll give you some advice that I wish I had going in – don’t put any serious thought into this movie. Of course it doesn’t make sense that AI in 2000 could somehow infect a Power Wheels jeep and a power drill, but the movie leans into the randomness that low budget movies on Shudder strive for. The movie is at its best (low bar) when laptop robots first appear and make you give up mentally.
Movies that reference the 70s/80s/90s without a working script have one thing in common – They rely on overplaying grab-bag music of the era to help put you in that decade’s mindset. Y2K multiplies that laziness by 10. If the soundtrack isn’t playing one hit wonders of the time, the characters sing them as a group. I’m all about the 90s nostalgia, but maybe having a script would have been nice too.
There’s an actual scene where Limp Bizkit’s Break Stuff plays and the characters, for no reason, just decide to have a montage where they literally break stuff. It doesn’t serve the plot. It doesn’t advance the characters. It’s just there to hold your hand and say “Remember this song? These goofy kids are gonna do what the lyrics say!” I hate it. No thank you.
The biggest issue beyond the acting, directing, dialogue, pandering, pacing, is that none of this feels genuine. Do I have a chip on my shoulder because I was these character’s ages when the movie takes place? Yes. But also, no character feels like they’re ever more than one dimension. There’s no charm to a story take takes place when the internet was at its infancy and the closest thing to cell phones were pagers.
It feels that writer/director Kyle Mooney wanted to reach out to all the Gen Z/Alpha kids of today and try to inject their current sensibilities, mannerisms, cynicism into a coming-of-age 90s teen movie. I feel like the only reason this movie takes place back then instead of now is that he feels like his particular commentary on the 90s is hilarious, and also thought it would be funny if appliance robots took over the world. Which, once again, if he or the script had an ounce of humor, this could have been a fun ride. And because he can’t help himself, he has a significant part where he digs deep and plays a stoner. Now it all makes sense, Y2K could be hilarious to some people with one added aspect – actual drugs.
The actors here are here for a paycheck. The only person trying is Jaeden Martell (It). He plays the role as if he’s in a overly serious movie about girl problems and finding challenges within friendships. However, any emotion he shows pales in comparison to even actors in Teen Disney shows. He is the Randy Newman/Lin Manuel Miranda of emotions, only being able to hold a note for two seconds. Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) was clearly just hired because of his typecast as the loudmouth “teen” who can’t read a room or possibly even a book. Rachel Zegler seems to have just wandered on set without being given a script. Her role is literally just the hacker who fake types on a keyboard and seemingly only has the line, “I’m in!”
After a grueling 91 minutes that felt like five hours and 27 minutes, I felt confident to say that this was the worst movie a24 has ever made, but was reminded that they made Spring Breakers. So now, it’s the second worst movie a24 has made.
Y2K is insultingly bad. The first few dated 90s references might make you smirk, but when you realize that’s all the movie has, it leads to tedium. Kyle Mooney seemingly wrote this movie during a late night stoner session with his bros. I’m sure the conversation they had was funny, but also you had to be there. F
Comments are closed.