Of Robert Scucci
| Published
I hate nostalgia because we all see the past through rose -colored glasses, and for the most part, the things we love burst the illusion of how “things were better” back during the day because they really were not. We were just children and did not have significant responsibility or people depending on us, so we long for the days where things were perceived as easier even though our parents probably also lost their thoughts on the same things that we freak out today now that we are all adults. So when I went to look at A24 Y2KI thought this would be your typical cash register for aging millennials so that they can get their requested dose of member berries before returning to “adult”.
I had so much wrong in my assessment because not just that Y2K A nuclear bomb of meaningless nostalgia, it is absolutely ruthless in its self -awareness, which allows it to make fun of the audience at the same time, let them in the joke and then lean to the joke so hard that it ends up being fun, but only before you come back ten times harder and leaves you to breathe over how deeply it really is.
At least this was my experience.
Hard to talk about without destroying
I will give you the most basic summary of Y2KAnd why I think it works because it is structured in such a way that I can let you in on the film’s mechanics without destroying any of the big revelations.
A group of friends try to crash on a New Year’s Eve 1999. At midnight, all hell goes loose when every single device at the party goes on a murder game; Toasters, blenders, vcrs … you name the technology, and it is probably impaling, grinding up or crushing faces in a bunch of innocent teens in the most brutal ways possible.
A sensitive Macintosh computer absorbs other related appliances and grows into a megabot that chases the children down through the forest as if it were Jason Voorhees.
A girl who embodies every technical nerd trope in the 90s (think Hacker) know everything about mainframes, malicious software and know exactly how to take down the robot uprising because she designed the school’s shit website … or something.
Parties of Relax bizkit.
As I said, this is so incredibly stupid, but that’s the point.
Why it works
Without the right context (grow up in the 90s, or at least be aware of what the children were with if you were an adult), Y2K’s Humor will be lost on you, and it’s okay. But if you are in the joke, you will realize that each individual Simpsons Reference and technical film Trope that comes from the decade that inspired this movie is run to perfection.
Of course A video recorder, who is not linked to the internet, can get sensitivity because it simply sits close to something that is connected to a modem. Of course Skateboards destroy the youth. And I know I said no spoilers, but Of course Fred Durst will put on his back red Yankees cap as if he himself was reunited with his hammer because the day of the bill has started and we need a fearless hero to help be spearheaded with the human resistance to the robot uprising.
That’s right, we basically have a modern version of Cutting grains Technology combined with some serious chunky now metal riffs, which makes everything feel like the whole production was sponsored by Jolt Cola.
The best way to describe Y2K Is a self-conscious love letter to the 90s nostalgia designed for people who absolutely hate this kind of thing. While looking at Y2KI never thought once for myself, “it’s cheap”, but instead woke my family on several occasions because I laughed so hard at the ridiculousness in everything – the whole movie plays as something that our parents would do for us back in the 90s in a wrong attempt to look cool in front of their children.
Your mileage may vary
Listen, you’ll either love Y2K Or absolutely hate it, which is good. But if you are at a certain age, long for the good days but cannot get past your own cynicism, and need a good laugh that is at your expense because the only way you know how you feel emotions is through self -flap, then you are in such treatment.
And for anyone who hates this movie … I understand. I know well that this is the stupidest movie I have seen in about a decade, but it is just so satisfying to look at what starts as a generic retro-futuristic teenager scream The film goes off the rails so fast and continues to shamelessly create its own way because it absolutely tear your expectations with each suitable scene while each character plays it completely straight.
Y2K is so Stupid and over the top, but it doesn’t try to be anything else. And because it has my infinite respect because I have never laughed so hard on a sci-fi “Thriller” in a very long time.
From this writing you can stream Y2K At Max.
