The “Y2K bug” is a huge part of 1990s worldwide lore. Based on the worry that computers would malfunction due to not being able to roll their internal clocks from 1999 to 2000 at the turn of the new millennium, it’s easy to forget that people across the globe back then were legitimately afraid of this happening. Panic buying and mass withdrawing of money marked uncertainty over whether all machines and cyberspace would go down or worse — go rogue. Obviously, that didn’t happen. What A24’s Y2K presupposes is… what if it did? Directed by oddball comedian Kyle Mooney (Brigsby Bear, Saturday Night Live), Y2K is an audacious blast chock full of teen comedy, which sometimes falters under the weight of its own ’90s references.
Y2K stars Jaeden Martell (It, Defending Jacob) and Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Deadpool 2) as high school nobodies Eli and Danny on New Year’s Eve 1999. The two nerds spend their time talking about girls and hanging out in a video rental store run by their much older stoner friend Garrett (Kyle Mooney). Neither of the boys knows how to spend their NYE, with Eli hopelessly pining after his classmate crush Laura (Rachel Zegler) and Danny wanting to go out and celebrate. Somehow, they end up at a raging house party thrown by a popular kid in Soccer they simply call Soccer Chris (musician The Kid LAROI).
Y2K makes a solid first impression, as if it’s Superbad by way of Kyle Mooney. Jaeden Martell was born to play the straight man; his awkwardness in navigating social situations comes off as very genuine. Julian Dennison, who has been previously delegated to playing “annoying kid” roles like those in Deadpool 2 and Godzilla vs. Kong, is actually allowed to be charming here. He’s a bright ball of energy, the center of attention in any room he walks in. A scene where he takes the party to the next level by singing Sisqó’s “Thong Song” is a huge highlight of the movie.
Writer-director Kyle Mooney and co-screenwriter Evan Winter inject ’90s period details in clever ways. A scene where rough-around-the-edge teenage losers Farkas (Eduardo Franco of Netflix’s Stranger Things) and Ash (Lachlan Watson) defend the honor of Limp Bizkit and rapper Fred Durst against lyric hip-hop head CJ (Daniel Zolghadri) is way too accurate. Not to mention the number of great needle drops throughout, ranging from Limp Bizkit’s own “Break Stuff” to “Tubthumping” by Chumbawamba to “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim. It’s clear that Kyle Mooney has a reverent love for the era that keeps Y2K from turning into one big and cheap “look how silly the late ’90s were!” joke.
When the clock strikes midnight, the machines become sentient and rebel. Y2K keeps the energy going. The machines dispatch the majority of the teenagers in hilariously gruesome ways, such as a CD player shooting out a disk to decapitate someone. The sudden tonal shift from party comedy to outright mayhem reflects the highly underrated This Is the End from 2013. Moreover, this initial machine freak-out carries with it all the manic energy of an Edgar Wright film. Ironically, the cinematographer of Y2K is Bill Pope, who shot Scott Pilgrim vs. the World as well as The Matrix trilogy. Another boon to Y2K’s madcap insanity is that no character is truly safe from the killer electronics of the apocalypse. No matter the screen time, everyone’s on the chopping block.
Once the main group of survivors is set, the plot of Y2K slows down to a snail’s pace. The humor begins to rely on its many references to late ‘90s culture a bit too much. Unfortunately, Rachel Zegler (West Side Story, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes) as Laura is woefully underwritten. She’s the typical example of a popular, cool girl who secretly has other interests. Her and Eli’s romance doesn’t ring true, to no fault of Zegler or Jaeden Martell. A visit to her toxic ex-boyfriend Jonas, played by Mason Gooding (Scream VI), doesn’t really go anywhere either.
It’s really up to Lachlan Watson (the Chucky TV show) as Ash and Daniel Zolghadri (Funny Pages) as CJ to carry this stretch of the movie. Their burgeoning friendship, despite their steep cultural divide, practically demands more focus. The second act of Y2K also gets a huge assist from Kyle Mooney’s self-insert stoner character, who is understandably perfectly attuned to the script’s humor. Mooney doing bits like asking a sentient conglomeration of machines “Yo computer, is it chill if I’ve never met my dad?” results in the funniest moments of the film, even in such a lull of a section.
In its third act, though, Y2K picks up in a big way. The introduction of a huge late ‘90s/early 2000s star playing themselves, framed po-faced like a grizzled survivor in a disaster movie, is a stroke of pure genius. It’s best not to spoil who this celebrity is, but let’s just say that audiences with an affinity for a certain bygone genre of music will break out in laughter at their reveal. And it’s not just a cameo, they become a full-on guiding force to help the main surviving teens cross the post-apocalyptic wasteland and defeat the AI overlords. This late character introduction cast kickstarts Y2K into a “teens vs. machines” final act that brings a much-needed clarity of focus.
This grand finale, at last, allows Rachel Zegler to sink her teeth into the campy material of the screenplay. Her character “hacking” the film’s big bad is reminiscent of films like Hackers in its complete tech illiteracy. It’s a great gag, even better when the main villain reveals itself in its janky CGI form that’s part Tron, part The Lawnmower Man. Tons of practical effects are used for the mechanical antagonists and, needless to say, they look fantastic. It’s an imaginative look at the technological terrors that play on the outright ridiculous real fears of the Y2K bug. The vibes here are totally in line with Kyle Mooney’s anarchic pre-SNL material. More specifically, early fans of Mooney’s “GoodNeighborStuff” YouTube channel will absolutely enjoy this. The general public may see Y2K as too “random” for its own sake, but those who get it — get it.
Although it’s maybe not as earnest or touching as Brigsby Bear, Y2K is a damn fine directorial debut for Kyle Mooney. Despite stumbling in a few places story-wise, Y2K brings together Mooney’s wildcard humor, a cast of fresh faces that feel like the second coming of the Brat Pack, and colorful use of nostalgic imagery for a sharp package. At the very least, this disaster comedy will appeal to millennials with fond memories of the ’90s time period. A24 is expanding its reach into other genres, and this kind of wild teen comedy is an excellent addition to its ever-growing stable.
Y2K premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival. A24 will release the film in theaters at a later date!
Directed by Kyle Mooney
Written by Kyle Mooney & Evan Winter.
Produced by Jonah Hill, Matt Dines, Allison Goodwin, Christopher Storer, Cooper Wehde, & Evan Winter.
Main Cast: Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Rachel Zegler, Daniel Zolghadri, Lachlan Watson, Eduardo Franco, Kyle Mooney, Mason Gooding, The Kid Laroi, Miles Robbins, Alicia Silverstone, Tim Heidecker, Lauren Balone, & Kevin Mangold.
Cinematographer: Bill Pope.
Composers: Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans.
Production Companies: A24, Strong Baby Productions, & American Light & Fixture.
Distributor: A24.
Runtime: 93 minutes.
