★★★★☆
Y2K, a comedy film directed by Kyle Mooney of Saturday Night Live fame, encapsulates multiple teens’ coming-of-age stories in the setting of a newly post-apocalyptic world. In Y2K, this disaster is brought about by what some conspiracy theorists predicted would happen on Jan. 1, 2000—technological ruin, or titularly, Y2K.
The movie follows high school junior Eli (Jaeden Martell), a shy, dorky teen whose only friend is the equally as awkward Danny (Julian Dennison). The movie’s first act evokes the same vibe as the early-2000s teen comedy Superbad, where the two outcasts are similarly eager to get into the popular kids’ party. In this case, it is a New Year’s Eve party where Eli hopes to talk to his crush, popular girl Laura (Rachel Zegler) who hides her life of coding.
The house party starts as a typical teen movie setting. Eli awkwardly speaks to Laura for just a minute before she is dragged back into the gaggle of popular kids, including her boyfriend Soccer Chris played by musician The Kid LAROI.
As soon as the clock strikes midnight, the house’s technology begins to go haywire and, taking a violent turn, targets the teens. Many are killed in humorous ways, such as when one character gets killed by a Tamagotchi gone rogue, but more emotional deaths of beloved characters occur as the scene progresses.
Managing to escape along with two other teen rejects, Eli and Laura stumble upon granola stoner Garrett (Mooney), who attempts to tackle the technological threat alongside the teens. With his other hippie housemates, the story unfolds as they attempt to figure out what is behind the danger that seems to be present throughout the whole town.
The film’s strength lies in Mooney’s unique comedic style infused into the film through both his directorial prowess and acting. The comedy is subtle, yet still “out there,” with jokes often consisting of misdirection and drug paraphernalia. For fans of Mooney’s comedy on SNL, it is almost completely likely Y2K’s comedy will be just as enjoyable.
Mooney places his characters in the strangest situations possible, making much of the humor they engage in situational. Still, his characters retain their teen-like sensibilities by cracking jokes only high schoolers would make. This makes the characters more believable and relatable to audience members who may feel disconnected from the outlandish events happening on the screen.
Despite this, the film lacks a strong emotional core, not allowing for the comedy to be truly balanced. While many characters die, their deaths are rarely treated with emotional weight. A scene occurring one too many times would involve one character repeatedly cracking jokes while a counterpart is actively dying.
These joking quips in otherwise serious moments felt jarring, making the audience feel taken out of the scene rather than completely immersed. This ultimately made the film’s life-threatening stakes less serious and its resolution less satisfying than it would have been otherwise.
Overall, Y2K’s charm is the thing that wins the audience over—at least, it won me over. Its eagerness combined with its unique story and wacky humor make it something special. While some facets of Y2K aren’t redeemable, like its lack of emotional depth, its positives definitely outweigh its negatives.
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