The endearing indie comedy flick Millennium Bugs follows two teens who celebrate the turn of the century as any teen would, with a party.
4.5 Films
For any rough-and-tumble millennial that wants to immerse themselves in a cinematic wave of late 1990s nostalgia, back when life was far simpler and the world not nearly as crazy, you’re just in time before the clock strikes midnight. Per an exclusive report with Collider, an endearing new indie comedy film titled Millennium Bugs (2023) is coming to multiple streaming platforms next month, and an official trailer gives us a firsthand look at this charming coming-of-century throwback.
The trailer above tosses us into a unique teen comedy-drama that focuses on two oddball friends, Kelly and Miguel, who are on the cusp of different personal predicaments. Out of money and options, Kelly throws caution to the wind and tracks down Miguel, her friend who works in a tear-jerkingly Blockbuster-esque store and is grappling with what his parents want versus what he wants out of life. She coerces him to go gallivanting on a drug and alcohol-induced adventure with her in their Christmas best, all while the world braces itself for an entirely new millennium.
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The film is directed by Alejandro Montoya Marin and stars Katy Erin (The Lincoln Lawyer), Michael Lovato (Third Act), Chad Brummett (Transcendence), Sofia Embid (Big Sky), and several others. It’s set to release on Feb. 7 on DVD, digital on-demand, and multiple streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu, Google Play, and Direct TV.
The film’s official synopsis is also provided below.
Set in the last week of 1999, best friends Kelly (Katy Erin, ‘The Lincoln Lawyer’) and Miguel (Michael Lovato, ‘Third Act’) find themselves on the cusp of their future. Kelly has been floating through life after her parent’s death, drowning herself in alcohol and drugs. When her inheritance money runs out, Kelly is slapped with the realities of her actions. Her best friend Miguel is torn between his immigrant parent’s expectations and his dream to become a comedian. The pressure to pursue his dreams while defying the sacrifices his parents made for him pushes Miguel to the brink. Together, Kelly and Miguel along with the rest of the world find themselves wondering what’s next.
Related: Euphoria: Why the Series is the Perfect Crossover Between the Millennial and Gen-Z Generations
The Y2K Phenomenon in Film
Columbia Pictures
As any millennial knows, the cusp of the new millennium was a very strange, short period in the world where conspiracies had spun wildly about what would happen when humanity reached the year 2000. There was an ominous fear of the impending new era and what it would bring, and people began to think that once the clock struck 00:00 AM on January 1st, 2000, computers everywhere wouldn’t correctly recognize their circuit units and that it would cause an irreparable error in calendar data. This would then lead to a collapse of all digital software, bringing about an impending doom in the form of a literal, worldwide blackout. However, while nothing of the sort happened, this fearmongering ironically intertwined with an optimism and unflinching fascination around the digital future, which was brought forth by the World Wide Web and the prospect of connecting everywhere to infinite knowledge and possibilities.
As such, multiple 90s films caught on to the aesthetic of this mindset, of the wonder of computers and the power they wielded that we still didn’t fully understand. They include ones like the crime drama Hackers (1995), which starred Johnny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie as two hackers at the center of a hacking catastrophe involving multiple oil tankers. The Net (1995) starred Sandra Bullock as a computer programmer who uncovers a digital conspiracy that puts her life and those she loves in danger. Johnny Mnemonic (1995) is a unique sci-fi flick that starred Keanu Reeves as a data courier who must deliver the data package in his head before it kills him or the Yakuza does. One other film, instead a made-for-TV movie, was called Y2K (1999), with the premise entirely focused on the widely-known computer bug conspiracy that was to topple the world. It was an off-the-grid predecessor to slightly overboard catastrophe flicks like The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and the Mayan conspiracy trend flick 2012 (2012).
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