Plotline A sparkly send-up of music-biz money-spinning, with Rachael Leigh Cook (She's All That) as Josie, the leader of an all-girl guitar group that also includes Tara (American Pie) Reid and relative newcomer Rosario Dawson. The girls are signed up by a svengali manager (Alan Cumming), but it turns out he only wants to use the records to transmit subliminal adverts to impressionable kids, telling them to spend, spend, spend.
Cats' entertainment All three actresses loved becoming pop stars, and made a point of learning how to play their instruments. Reid became a pretty mean drummer, and would proudly show her calloused fingers to anyone who doubted her.
Charlie and the copycats The film has a lot in common with last year's Charlie's Angels, but at least makes a joke about the resemblance. In their world, the Pussycats become so cool and famous that rumours arise of Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu wanting to play them in a movie.
Catwalk show The girls wear lots of outlandish outfits, including slinky backless dresses with long feline tails attached. These were big favourites with the boys in the crew, who discovered that if you stepped on the tails, the dresses became not just backless but bottomless.
Fat cats In theory, the film is a satire on big business, but since that 'satire' involves product placements for Revlon, Coca Cola, Starbucks, Motorola, Evian and McDonald's, it's unlikely to cause serious worries for chief executives.
Verdicts 'Mindless glitz-o-ramas don't get any snazzier' - Boston Globe. 'So hypocritical it's like Britney Spears calling Christina Aguilera under-dressed' - USA Today.
