Yes, children of the ’90s. You are officially old enough that nostalgic films are being made about your childhood. However, while Kyle Mooney’s Y2K is overloaded with nostalgia, the story, sadly, is all over the place.

Mooney is a great comedic mind. His years on Saturday Night Live gave hope that his directorial debut would deliver a balance of ’90s memories and a quality coming-of-age tale. Y2K is influenced by both Superbad and This is the End, which are good inspirations. Mooney’s problem is that in trying to merge them, Y2K isn’t as good as either of them.

Y2K starts innocently enough. Eli (Jaeden Martell) and Danny (Julian Dennison), two friends and social outcasts, decide that the epic party at Soccer Chris’s (The Kid LAROI) house on New Year’s Eve is their last chance to achieve their adolescent dreams. You’ll get a heaping helping of ’90s references, including Billy Blanks, AOL, Chumbawamba, and more. While the party goes well for Danny, Eli is crushed when he sees the girl of his dreams kissing someone else.

Y2K Brings the Apocalypse

If you’re not old enough to remember, there was a lot of panic at the end of 1999. There was a fear that computers would not recognize the year 2000 when the new millennium began, and society as we knew it would crumble. In reality, the turn of the century came and went without incident. Mooney’s Y2K tells a different story.

Everything seems fine when the ball drops and brings in the new millennium—for a second. Then, the lights go out, and the screams begin. At the turn of the century, technology became sentient and turned on people in an attempt to enslave the human race. It’s not just your toaster attacking you. The technology fuses to form monsters comprised of different gadgets. Eli and his friends are suddenly fighting for their lives, fleeing the murderous tech as they make their way through town.

As luck would have it, the popular girl is also a hacking wizard. Since the home base for the machines is Eli’s high school, all they have to do is infiltrate the school and allow Laura (Rachel Zegler) a chance to upload a virus. Yes, just like Independence Day, which is referenced in Y2K.

Y2K Is Nostalgic Fun

Y2K is more cliche than you’d expect from Mooney, but it’s also a lot of fun. The ’90s references had the audience in the theater laughing, and the film is lighthearted enough to be completely self-aware. In one scene, Eli and Laura appear destined for their first kiss. We’re then reminded that they’re in a porta-potty, sliding down a hill with the contents splashing all over them. Fred Durst also makes a wonderful appearance. It’s much more than a cameo—at times, Durst carries Y2K.

Mooney’s appearance in his own film also stands out. As a video store employee, Mooney’s Garrett is Y2K’s Yoda, the elder full of wisdom – at least until Garrett decides to face the machines in what he imagines to be an epic confrontation.

The film is silly fun, but it also has much to say. Y2K comments on our reliance on technology. One of the machines actually says that people have become slaves to their devices, so why not make it official? It’s hard not to think that Mooney’s intent was to make us think about how much more true that is in 2024 than in 1999.

Y2K also follows the standard teenage movie themes of accepting who you are and not conforming to what others want you to be. Eli is the center of this theme, as he’s not the athlete or the cool kid. This, too, is done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. After the porta-potty scene, Eli vents about his attempts to fit in, with his skate shoes being the target of his angst. He throws them off, proclaiming that he doesn’t even like skating and hates these shows. In that moment, he is accepting who he is, and giving permission to anyone watching to shed the act and be who they are.

Y2K isn’t groundbreaking cinema, but you’ll likely have a good time watching it. Filled with fun performances and a great appearance by Fred Durst, it’s an interesting statement on our obsession with technology. But if you just want a laugh, the ’90s references will be enjoyable.

Y2K is in theaters now.