There's a lot to like in Y2K. I just wish the movie didn't feel the need to undercut itself for shock value or for jokes.
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Kyle Mooney is one of the most mercurial, long running, SNL cast members. Because despite being with the show for almost a decade, Mooney's sensibilities as a sketch-writer and comedic talent always felt off the beaten path. In a show that does its best to make big sketches "for everyone," Mooney always seemed to make weird bits that would be more at home on a critically acclaimed basic cable show that got cancelled too soon. This was more or less confirmed for me when Mooney's solo breakout was...an indie darling called Brigsby Bear, a movie with an very out there concept that managed to be equal parts hilarious, weird and emotionally resonant. So I was very curious to see how Mooney would apply his sensibilities to a period, horror comedy, Y2K.
The Setup
Taking place in 1999, the film centers around two best friends, Eli and Danny, who are looking to make big moves at the upcoming New Year's Eve party. But all of the goals for the new year go out the window when all of the nearby technology becomes sentient and homicidal. Now the duo and the remaining survivors from the party will have to work together to escape to safety and maybe save humanity from a machine takeover.
Y2K is a mixed bag. On the one hand, I'm a sucker for anything that captures the vibe of when I grew up in late 90s and early 2000s including the different social cliches (from their fashion to their music choices), a perfectly simulated experience of AOL instant messenger and a leading man nerd who doesn't feel like they have a "thing" that defines them.
I also appreciate the movies' very eighties vibe in regards to its robot killer machine design that use practical effects or stop motion to create these wirey monstrosities and a bevy of unique and so over-the-top you can't help but laugh kinds of kills. The first machine outburst in particular is a bit of horror comedy goodness I wish the rest of the movie nailed down.
It has the time and place down to a tee whether it's a supporting character that's a fan of "real hip-hop" dressed in baggy clothes, or the nu metal kids who are always videotaping their antics. We've also got a solid collection of up and coming talent including Rachel Zegler as our main hacker girl love interest, Jaeden Martell from It as our overwhelmed protagonist, and Lachlan Watson as an alt girl figuring things out.
So what's the problem? Personally I think Mooney and the movie are stuck between the millenial impulses of being sincere and immediately undercutting that sincerity (also known as bathos), which lessens and cheapens the movie's theme.
Witout going into a giant pop culture analysis, a lot of kids who grew up in the era this movie takes place, including Mooney himself, were likely both trying to be a part of and ruthlessly judging various pop culture sub groups based on their perceived authenticity...and how embarassing it was to be a fan of said pop culture. For instance, as much as many folks my age denied that the Power Pop music of the time from the boy bands like N'Sync and the Backstreet Boys or the female solo acts like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera had any artistic merit vs. whatever alt rock stations were playing at the time or a series of rap booty jams like Back the Azz Up (because if it wasn't vanilla pop it didn't matter if it was equally overplayed).
This is also where a lot of meta or edgelord humor started. Which meant doing the exact opposite of "what's expected" for the sake of a joke, often with a ludricrous levels of exaggeration. But over time, there's been a softening towards a lot of "embarassing" pop culture from this era including some nu metal acts who haven't drifted into asshole territory and the Backstreet Boys are still popular enough to do laundry ads for adults.
Now you can get a bunch of folks in their late 30s jumping like idiots as soon as you start playing "Bye Bye Bye" and what everyone start to try and do the dance. We were allergic to sincerity and we all seemingly realized over time that maybe we should've been more sincere and forthright all along instead of hiding our feelings in jokey deflections.
I know this sounds like a tangent, but I genuinely feel this impulse in Mooney throughout the movie. There's, in all seriousness, about four or five scenes that have a "movie setup" where a character is about to show some unexpected mettle, is set to do something awesome including a giant music swell. A scene that's immediately undercut by someone either getting killed or the plan/moment going to hell before it can start.
This is a fun trick once or twice, but at a certain point it gets irritating. Like...ok we get it. You're building this up so you can undercut it or defy expectations. It's not really a running joke but more like a trope you keep reversing. We get it. Very clever. It happens so much that any time the movie does indulge in sincerity it feels genuinely unexpected. It also works so much better.
Most of the movie's most impactful and fun moments happen when the movie embraces the tropes of this kind of story. It's so weird sometimes because you'll literally have a character on screen singing the praises of an early 2000s punching bag before a sincere needle drop to a song that's often viewed as embarassing. And it's infinitely more effective than any of the fakeouts because it's silly...but it's fun and that means something. It's also fits infinitely better in the film's comedic lane and theme.
Because this story is about a bunch of disaparate people who exist in a bunch of different subgroups realizing each other's value, despite their incredibly varied interests, wardrobes and music choices, while working together to stop a machine apocalypse. And what connects all of these folks? Sincerity. Real connection. Believing in each other in spite of their differences.
There's a lot to like in Y2K. I just wish the movie didn't feel the need to undercut itself for shock value or for jokes. The premise and movie are silly enough without all that.
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