By Abigail Holliday
Staff Writer
“Y2K,” produced by Jonah Hill and directed by “Saturday Night Live’s” Kyle Mooney, was available to be streamed on HBO Max on April 4.
This movie parodies the Year 2000 Problem, Y2K, which was the worldwide fear that all electronics would cease to work at midnight on Dec. 31, 1999. Dates were read in double digits, ‘99 as 1999, and the belief was that when midnight hit and the date would turn ‘00, the computers would believe that it was 1900 and lose all of their data and stop working. “Y2K” portrays a world where technology rebels due to a computer bug and attempts to take over humanity.
Originally premiering on Dec. 6, 2024, “Y2K” only made $2.1 million during its opening weekend and $4.5 million worldwide, with a budget of just under $15 million. It seems the public is divided on its stance on the movie, with a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus seems to be either that the movie was awful but funny, or that it was a hilarious throwback movie with relatable '90s references.
This movie is a comical spoof thriller movie with the main character, Eli, played by Jaeden Martell, getting into trouble because he wanted to kiss a girl. Eli and his best friend Danny end up at a New Year’s Eve party so that Eli can kiss Laura, played by Rachel Zegler, at midnight.
The movie quickly takes a gory turn as the electric bed sends someone flying into the ceiling fan, killing him. It only went downhill from there: electric razors cutting faces and VCRs bashing people with tapes. Danny, played by Julian Dennison, is killed after being impaled by a vengeful pink jeep that comes alive. As he is actively dying, he hands Eli a condom, hoping he will still get lucky with Laura.
Their crew actively tries to shut down the evil technology while fighting for their lives. They encounter killer Tamagotchi robots and a CD robot that attempted to kill Fred Durst, playing himself, after he was picked up as a stray by the kids.
They discover a giant hive-mind computer in the gym that sends people through and implants into their brains, controlling them by transporting their minds to the “Dream Realm.” Laura and Eli find the motherboard and attempt to insert a kill code Laura has created while Fred Durst sings to distract the crowd. The machine shocks Laura, making it so she can’t put in the flashdrive, until Eli remembers the condom and gives it to Laura to use as an insulator.
This hilariously bad movie ends as Eli and Laura are graduating college, saying goodbye to Danny’s grave, listening to “Closing Time” by Semisonic as the iPod glitches, and showing the face of the evil malware that took over technology.
This movie encapsulates the panicked mentality that millennials were facing going into the 21st century.
