Welcome back to another episode of The Video Store Podcast, the podcast that really knows how to rock! 🤘 This week, we are rocking with four films featuring fictional bands.

First up is the 1984 mockumentary, This is Spinal Tap. Directed by Rob Reiner, this rock mockumentary follows Spinal Tap, one of “England’s Loudest Bands” through their rise and fall. Make some popcorn and laugh along with one of the funniest films ever inducted into the Library of Congress.

Next is That Thing You Do! (1996), written and directed by Tom Hanks. The film follows the 1960s band, The Wonders, who are basically the American Beatles, on their fast rise to stardom. Navigating fame is a challenge, but is it one that The Wonders can handle? This film marks Tom Hanks’ directorial debut and features the title song written by the late, great Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne. Grab your shades and prepare to scream at this one.

The third act in our music festival of movies is the Oscar, BAFTA, Grammy, and SAG Award-winning Almost Famous (2000), written and directed by Cameron Crowe. This semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale is set in the early 70s and follows young William Miller, a 15-year-old music writer. William’s writing is advanced for his age, so much so that Rolling Stone magazine hires him over the phone to follow the band Stillwater on tour, not realizing they’ve sent a 15-year-old kid on the road with a drug and alcohol-sodden band. With incredible performances from Patrick Fugit, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, this is a film that will keep you thinking about the music you love and why you love it for years to come.

Our closing act is the criminally underrated Josie and the Pussycats (2001), written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Based on the Archie comic and Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name, the film follows Josie, Valerie, and Melody as they try to move their band, The Pussycats, out of the gutter and into the spotlight. Filled with meta-humor, satire, and an insightful commentary on the insidious nature of marketing directed at kids and teenagers, Josie and the Pussycats is a smart comedy that also serves as a time capsule for the early 2000s. The soundtrack totally rocks too, featuring lead vocals by Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo and our lead actresses on background vocals and playing their own instruments. You will be shocked at the sheer number of cameos in the film and the big names who wrote the songs on the soundtrack.

We hope these selections will inspire you to grab an instrument and play along. Even if the bands are fictional, our love for the music and these films is real. Enjoy this four-stop tour down memory lane in this week’s Video Store Podcast.

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