Better Late Than Never on "Y2K"

About a year ago I remember Kyle Mooney going on a tour of podcasts and tv shows to talk about his new album, which I adore, and a new movie he was directing called "Y2K". I listened and loved the album, but I skipped the movie for the time being. I don't really know why I skipped it either. It got bad reviews, but that hasn't stopped me from seeing stuff before. It wasn't in the theaters too terribly long, but I watch stuff on streaming all the time. And then I kind of just forgot about it. I was then checking on the A24 list on HBOMax and "Y2K" was one of the first movies that popped up. So I sat back while I waited for the repair person to show up and watched.

I found myself enjoying the movie. I'm a Kyle Mooney fan. I loved when he was on "SNL". He used to make me crack up with the characters he would play, especially the 90's comedian who would bomb on weekend update. I really enjoyed "Brigsby Bear" . I think it is one of the more underrated movies to come out in the 2010's. I watched all of his Netflix show, "Saturday Morning All Star Hits", and loved how weird and dark it would get. And when he shows up in bit parts on tv shows or movies, I get stoked. I also like his and Beck Bennett's podcast, although they don't always record on any kind of schedule. He makes me laugh and I enjoy his brand of comedy. So I was going into "Y2K" with an open mind, which I think is the best way to watch a movie like this. It isn't world changing film making. I don't think Mooney and crew thought they were going to win any awards. But you could tell in watching this movie that he was having a good time and he wanted to tell a gory and weird and funny tale about what he thought would happen if viruses messed with computers on New Years Eve of 1999.

This movie was perfect for someone my age because Y2K was such a big deal. Everyone talked about it. We all wondered what would happen. We all backed up our computers. I can remember sitting in my basement with some friends as midnight rolled around and nothing happened. But this movie takes us into a world of something happening. The movie starts off like any throwback to the late 90's that we have now. There's the music of the time, the fashion and kids getting ready to ring in the new year. Jaeden Martell plays the main character, Eli. His best buddy, Danny, is played by Julian Dennison. They are dorky outcasts that just want to be accepted by the cool kids. They get drunk one night and decide to go to the big party held at "Soccer" Chris's house. Soccer Chris is played by singer The Kid Laroi, and he does an okay enough job playing a jerk. But Eli's main goal is to kiss his crush at midnight, Laura, who is played by Rachel Zegler. She kisses Soccer Chris instead, and Eli feels rejected. Then some wild stuff starts to happen. It hits midnight, and a few minutes later the machines start to take out the kids at the party. It is gruesome and hilarious. I thought it was pretty great the way Mooney directed these scenes. They were scary but also funny. After the massacre at the party, where Danny unfortunately leaves us, we have four people on the run. Eli, Laura, CJ and Ash. All get away. They did have a fifth kid with them, but he tried to do a trick with some rollerblades and breaks his neck. See, funny the way they off some of the characters, at least in my opinion. From here on out it is all about survival, but they also make it funny along the way. Mooney plays a stoner movie clerk who happens to have a nice, safe location free of internet. But he too meets his demise, and again it is hilarious. But this movie is really all about Eli getting up the courage to tell Laura how he feels, all the while the world is seemingly coming to an end due to Y2K.

I laughed a lot during my watch. I think Mooney has a good, and unique sense of humor. I find his stuff to work for me. I don;t necessarily agree with the critics on this one, but to each their own I guess. If you want to watch a movie that is a good time, and to turn your brain off for a bit, "Y2K" is a solid choice. I liked it a good bit. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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