Y2K

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If you were born some time before the year 2000, then chances are (unless you were still a baby), you might remember the whole big stink about the Y2K virus. To keep it real simple, it was the concept that computers, worldwide, would cease to operate properly, because old dating code, using two digits, could only go up to "99." So, when "00" flipped back over, it might be mistaken for 1900, and thus, potentially, things might crash, in more ways than one. It was a big deal that most rational people overlooked, but caused panic in others.

However, when midnight hit here in Southern Ontario, Canada, nothing happened, and it was easy to know nothing would happen, if it didn't happen in Australia several hours earlier. It was one of time's biggest pranks on humanity, and pretty silly to look back on and think about. But 'Y2K' here tries to answer the "what-if" question, had the Y2K virus been real. It does so in a comedic fashion that doesn't take itself seriously, which is great and all, but the overall execution here was honestly pretty brutal.

As the film gets going, it plays out a bit more like your average teen comedy of the era, all too complete with call-backs to things from the late 90s that may be off by a year or two. We're introduced to teen best friends, Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison) who discuss what they wanna do for New Years Eve. At a store, the pair watch as Eli's crush, Laura (Rachel Zegler), and her friends swipe some alcohol for a party they're going to at Laura's boyfriend, "Soccer" Chris' (The Kid Laroi) house.

Deciding to crash said party, Eli and Danny go, in the hopes that not only Eli might get his chance to kiss Laura at midnight, and that Danny can gain some popularity, which he somehow manages by dancing and signing along to Sisquo's 'Thong Song,' and it's pretty damn cringey. But just as things are looking up (for Danny, at least), midnight hits, the power goes out, and things go off the rails - not in a cool, badass, horror way, but in a stupid, juvenile, high school project way.

Somehow, basically immediately, computers around Chris' house start getting super intelligent and running around killing the party people, panic ensues, and the viewer is left with the question of "how is that supposed to happen?" The film suggests computerized objects latching onto potentially more dangerous objects and assimilating. Think of wires coming out of some place on your PC and grabbing a lighter and a can of hairspray - it's gonna use it as a weapon (and this happens). But I guess one must remember that this is a comedy, too.

The problem with this being a comedy is that it kinda just... isn't one. It seems that every time the movie tries to be funny, with the exception of maybe a faint snicker because things get so ridiculous, things just fall flat. The teen comedy side of it is just too typical (It's essentially 'Superbad' in the beginning), the horror isn't at all freaky, and the special effects here feel so much more from the late 80s, they look that cheesy. Oh, and I forgot the best part - Fred Durst shows up to play himself as if to desperately ask us "I still matter, right?"

I generally like a good horror comedy, but this just didn't hit at all for me. It may end up being a bit more fun for anyone watching who was born after the turn of the century, but even that's a stretch. It came and went from theatres in the blink of an eye, and it's very easy to see why. This one isn't even really "throw-your-brain-out-the-window" fun, and there's wasted potential here. There are a few competitors for this title, but this might be the worst movie I saw in 2024.

1/5

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