Every New Year’s Eve my mother recounts the end of 1999, when everyone believed the world’s end was one clock tick away. She recounts going outside and not seeing planes crashing, cell towers falling, and the general end of civilization. But what if there was an end as the clock struck midnight on January 1st, 2000? Kyle Mooney’s Y2K (2024) asks precisely this question, albeit to the best of its ability. The film takes a particularly juvenile approach to the premise; it chronicles a group of high school seniors (Jaeden Martell, Rachel Zegler, and Julian Dennison) as the technology around them bites back as a new millennium dawns.
When the film was initially announced, Mooney’s involvement piqued my interest as he is arguably one of the last great SNL cast members. I love the bits he brings back in his sketches and comedic style, but his voice fails to shine in his directorial debut. This was incredibly disheartening because we’ve seen great post-SNL debuts from other cast members such as Bill Hader and Tina Fey.
It’s possible his voice was diminished during the writing process as Mooney and Evan Winter co-wrote the script. The exposition is rushed and the relationships don’t feel strong. Other than the main relationship between Martell and Dennison, every other character feels like a shell of themselves, falling into stereotypes evident in many teen films. The lack of relationship-building between characters disappoints because the film tries to emphasize these relationships as a fundamental pillar of the film’s message.
A film about technology rebelling against humanity could be a great chance to start a conversation about the power of human connection and bonding, but the tight 90-minute runtime constricts it from delving into these ideas. Taking a chance with a longer runtime and more room to breathe would have allowed the film to resonate deeper with audiences. It is as good visually as one would expect from a lower-budget teen comedy, with a CGI hacking sequence that feels ripped right out of the time period.
I found the premise to resonate heavily in today’s world with the increasing fear of AI’s hold over the general population. While it seems like a comedic prequel to The Matrix with technology enslaving humanity, it is clear that Mooney wanted to tell a story about current fears of technology through a phenomenon an older generation lived through. Despite this analysis, the film fails to acknowledge this message in a meaningful way. Despite the attempt to craft a meaningful message through its chaotic sci-fi nature, the film focuses on the nostalgia of the late ‘90s too much for its own good.
Despite its excess of nostalgia, Y2K cleverly echoes great late ‘90s teen films with the single-night framing and tropes reminiscent of the genre. This is largely seen in the main conflict, with Eli (Martell) hesitant to ask out the self-proclaimed girl of his dreams, Laura (Zegler), and get a New Year’s kiss. Immediately I was reminded of 1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait, with a similar premise but at the end of high school and no science fiction. The comparison here plays nicely with modern filmmaking as a teen film taking place on a single night seems timeless. What made Can’t Hardly Wait work so well is that the script took the time to foster the relationships between the characters and their individual motivations for life beyond high school. Taking a similar approach with Y2K through characters discussing New Year’s resolutions or something similar may have improved the character dynamics and made them feel more lived-in.
Martell is one of the best parts of the film, getting a chance to take on a raunchier role instead of the more young-adult-oriented roles he is most known for. This is the same case for Zegler, who usually takes roles that require vocal talent. The cast as a whole is evidence of Young Hollywood and the power they have as performers, and it means a lot that Mooney took a chance on such a well-known, largely Gen Z cast. The cast brings their talent to each role despite the lackluster script they were given, which helps to realize each character a bit more. Unfortunately, the script’s rushed exposition leaks into every aspect of the film, including performances.
In most aspects of production, Y2K seems like it was rushed to hit a December release date. The script feels like a first draft, and the editing applies to this too, with scenes either going on a bit too long or cutting them off too soon to move to the next sequence. This is where the film feels the most unfinished because character arcs are either introduced too late or dropped before their resolution.
For example, Rachel Zegler’s Laura tries to make the other characters understand how her sudden popularity affected her negatively, but it seems to fizzle out by the film’s third act. The lack of payoff was incredibly dissatisfying especially because it could have been a great moment to play with teen movie tropes and how surface-level they often are.
Y2K has great moments and performances but falls on its face in terms of a well-developed theme that seems obvious from the state of current technological advancements. The comedy lands but fails to engage with anything more than nostalgia. In terms of a debut, Mooney has a solid start, but the general lack of payoff through the script and editing overpowers what the film is trying to say about technology and how it affects human relationships. Overall, the film is forgettable–it knows what it wants to say but fails to craft it visually.
Review Courtesy of Nadia Arain
Feature Image Credit to A24 via IMDb