New Year’s Eve 1999 had many believing the world would collapse when the yearly clock turned 2000. Technology would break down, cities would fall, and society as we know it would face an era of darkness. As it came to pass, nothing happened and everything kept on trucking as usual. Technology got bigger and even better, ushering the fresh millennium into a user-friendly new dawn. Written and directed by Saturday Night Live alum Kyle Mooney, Y2K is a purposely silly take on the fear that swept the world as one decade gave way to the next. Mooney’s film is “the thing with two heads”; a mixture of fun 90’s nostalgia and tongue-in-cheek teen comedy/creature feature where technology becomes a very real monster. 

Co-written with Evan Winter, Mooney sees the Y2K madness as a goofy reality where computers take charge and household appliances begin to kill human beings. Much of the humor works well and the first half of the film is filled with some big laughs. Once Y2K goes from John Hughes teenage humor to becoming a distant cousin of Stephen King’s Maximum Overdrive, Mooney’s directorial debut too-often feels the weight of its references, but the ride is great fun for a good while. 

Taking place on that assumed fateful New Year’s Eve, Y2K introduces its audience to Eli (Jaeden Martell) a high school teen who doesn’t buy into the prophets of doom who declare the millennium to be the end. Eli is too busy focusing on his crush, popular girl-with-a-heart-of-gold, Laura (Rachel Zegler) and hanging out with his best buddy, Danny (Julian Dennison). The two aren’t part of the in crowd and are spending holiday together. Trying to score a memorable night, the duo find their way to the big high school party thrown by the popular Soccer Chris (The Kid Laroi), where Eli will try to make a good impression on Laura, even as the cocky party has his sights set on her as well.

With the festivities in full swing, the stroke of midnight sees the worldwide fears come true, as all electronics come alive and morph into violent aggressors. Becoming a makeshift band of survivors, Eli, Danny, and Laura, are joined by metal heads Ash and Farkas (Lachlan Watson and Eduardo Franco, respectively) and wannabe rapper CJ (Daniel Zolghadri) in a quest to survive the night. The burnout hippie video store owner Garrett (Kyle Mooney) and his fellow “brahs” Jonas (Mason Gooding) and Nugz (Miles Robbins) join their young friends in the struggle to stay alive.

There is an infectious energy to the film’s first half, as Winter and Mooney’s screenplay has great fun with the period references and needle drops. Gen-Xers and Millennials will have a retro blast, while camcorders, AIM chat boxes, 40 ounce beers, Billy Blanks exercise videos, and VHS culture are set to the music of Fatboy Slim, Chumbawamba, Limp Bizkit and more. Mooney shows an easy-going style as a director. The re-creation of the period feels natural and unforced, while the script’s breezy comedy fits well with Y2K’s accurate portrait of the era. The veristic dialogue gives the cast the proper blueprint to create characters who endear themselves to the audience. 

Jaeden Martell and Julian Dennison are the heart of the film, flawlessly portraying Eli and Danny’s innocence in a world about to go mad. The actors color their roles with a believable sweetness that sells them as long-time best friends who truly care about one another. The two laugh, tease, and occasionally bicker as any friends will do. Martell and Dennison are quite skillful in not letting the audience see them act. A direct link could be made to the characters played by Michael Cera and Jonah Hill in Judd Apatow’s Superbad, as we care about Eli and Danny and become swept up in their engaging personalities and infectious chemistry while their night spirals out of control. 

The supporting cast does good work, even if most of the other characters aren’t as well-defined as Eli and Danny. Mooney is very funny, although he is doing the one type of persona he did to death during his time at SNL. Everyone gets in some good comedic moments while Rachel Zegler is the perfect personification of that old teen movie chestnut, the unattainable popular girl with a heart of gold.

As the film moves into its final act, the world’s computers go “Skynet” and turn on the humans who made them. Mooney crafts a few inventive kills that pay homage to the practical gore FX horror movies of yesteryear, but when the world of Y2K is thrust into chaos, the film’s final stretch follows suit. After a while, the screenplay doesn’t have anywhere to go, causing the home stretch to drag. The good time vibes give way to a repetitiveness that causes the film to lose its creative steam.

With all the laughs found in Kyle Mooney’s film, there is a bit of melancholy to be found. It is strange to remember a time where the world feared the end of mankind, only to find it was just another year turning over. It would be just 20 months later when the attacks on September 11 would actually change the world forever. Whether the filmmakers intended for that type of pensive reflection is uncertain, but it adds something interesting to the viewing experience.

In fairness, Y2K feels like a skit stretched out to feature length, but that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of spending most of the 90 minute run time laughing and having fun. In the upside down world of 2024, what more can one ask? 

With a good cast, good gags, and some damn good music, audiences will have a retro good time.  

Y2K 

Written by Evan Winter and Kyle Mooney

Directed by Kyle Mooney

Starring Jaeden Martell, Julian Dennison, Rachel Zegler, Lachlan Watson, Eduardo Franco, Daniel Zolghadri, Kyle Mooney

R, 93 Minutes, A24, American Light & Fixture