I'm not sure what the point of calling this Jem and the Holograms is. It bears no real connection to the fun '80s cartoon series. Instead, this is a boring and predictable teen drama that rips off everything from Hannah Montana to Earth to Echo. So you make a property based on an old cartoon and toy line and then proceed to alienate any viewers who might want to check it out for nostalgia's sake. On top of that, your movie kinda blows anyway so you can forget adding any new fans. The songs suck, the actors are forgettable, and the script doesn't have a single original idea. There's also this annoying YouTube crap that keeps popping up. I get it. You're trying to make a Jem for the generation that has such a thing as "YouTube popular." That's an idea that should have been killed in any of the pre-production meetings they undoubtedly had before this thing was made. It's a misfire from start to finish. It likely won't appeal to any of the fans of the original Jem and I can't imagine it will hold much appeal to any younger fans, excepting those who might be crushing on a couple of the actors.
125 Reviews
Came off like a bad TV movie
jaggedclaw27 March 2016
Highly disappointing movie. I am a fan of the original Jem, yes, but I am also a teen and part of the target demographic of this monstrosity of a failure. Even if I look at it without comparing it to the original it's just overall bad. The plot was sloppy and cliché (often making no sense how they got from point A to point B), the characterization was poorly done and all over the place, and the dialogue was awkward. The story was much too rushed and was highly unlikely. Normally I'm fine with implausible stories in a fun, light-hearted sci fi about a pop star and her sisters, except they removed all the fun and sci fi and attempted to replace it with forced angst. The most accurate part of the movie was the fact that Rio is just as unlikable as he was in the 80s. If you're looking for a laugh, you came to the right place. If you want modern Jem, look to the comic book series because it is a 100% better reboot.
This movie is no Jem. It's crap.
ironhorse_iv6 March 2017
Warning: Spoilers
This movie doesn't look like it learn from the mistakes of M. Night Shyamalan had with 2010's 'The Last Airbender'; in which, that film fail due to incomprehensible plotting, detached joyless direction and straying too far from the source material. Like that movie, this film also suffer from those examples. It's sad, because the film was directed by longtime fan, Jon M. Chu whom spent ten years developing the project with producer, Jason Blum and it doesn't even look close to the 1980s animated television series 'Jem' by Christy Marx, in which it was based on. Instead of capitalize on the source material's goofy charm, the film went for a bland by-the-numbers drama in which teenage songwriter Jerrica Benton AKA Jem (Aubrey Peeples) find success on Youtube. Only to find herself & her foster sisters being offered a record deal from music producer Erica Raymond (Juliette Lewis) whom might be, using their fame for sinister motives. Without spoiling the movie, too much, I have to say, I was really disappointed by the lack of story, here. It's so generic. After all, the whole idea having music career, will save, the family's sacred building from being foreclosed, has been done, before & better in films, such as 1980's 'Blue Brothers' & 2011's 'The Muppets'. Not only that, but it gives a very weak mixed message about career vs family. I get that, sticking to your family is a good message, but Jerrica became one of the world's biggest celebrities thanks to a video of her playing acoustic guitar in her bedroom, alone. It's not like the fans in this movie, knows about the other members of the band to care about them. They only perform, one concert, in a very small warehouse, where the power goes off & that said video only had 36,000 views, which is considered small on YouTube terms. A solo act is not like the evil kiss of death, in this stage of career. Also, strangely enough, Jem's said to be the biggest pop star in the world, yet she can't stop her aunt's house besides selling out to Erica!? I get that, she just starting her career, but Jem's fame meant she had other ways to get the money, for example, she could have raise the funds by selling autographs and other memorabilia, or better yet, sell the robot, Synergy. Also, the whole idea of Erica wanting Jem to go solo, makes no sense, since she can make money, either way. That conflict seem forced. It would make sense, if Jem & the Holograms were unsigned singing talents who were fighting a rival band like the Misfits for a chance to receive a record deal with a major label in singing competition television series. Now, that would be somewhat compelling and watchable, instead of this fake real-life Justin Beiber's rags to riches story. It sucks so much, that film rarely has time for the synergy subplot. You know, the movie written by Ryan Landels is rushing it, when the heist in the middle doesn't make any sense, since Jem still owns the earrings, and they can come in & out of the building, as much as they can, since, technically, Erica works for them. Plus, why did Jem's father, put all the parts in random areas!? All of this plot-holes, makes 2009's 'Hanna Montana: The Movie's' plot seem like a masterpiece. Another problem with this movie is the way, it was shot. It shot as if, watching a low budget found footage film on Youtube. Lots of blurriness, off-angles, from these hand-held camera moments. It's amateurism, when it shouldn't be. Also, what is the deal with all the random viral videos that they put, throughout this movie!? Little of what is being shown, adds to the film like the squirrel on jet skis. If that wasn't bad enough, I really don't like all the manipulative editing, they did to this film, making it seem like both celebrities and real-life fans of the cartoons were fans of this movie. It's misleading. Some of these videos even show the original Jem cartoon in the backstage, showing how poor these lies are. Despite that, I have to say Peeples' performance as Jem is memorable even if all the songs were mediocre, as well as Lewis as a nonsensical evil witch caricature. Even the costume and make up, weren't that bad, as it come close to the vibrant spirit of the Jem cartoons that originally made fans fall in love. However, with all that, I still don't think, this movie should had been made. After all, the 1980s animated television show about a singer who led a double life, using technology from a supercomputer named Synergy to use holograms in her earrings to disguise herself was just as bad. Honestly, what is the point of staying hidden, if your hologram looks exactly like you, only with different hair & make up!? It makes no sense. It's truly outrageous in a bad way. Also, it has a pretty weak drama, in which, the only person, who doesn't know who Jem is, is her purple hair boyfriend, Rio. Is he, really that dumb? Also I don't like, how the show portray pop rock hair band as the heroes, and the punk scene of the 1980s as the villains. It's really shallow. Not only that, but the show is so into the fashion & music styles of the times, that it makes it seem super dated. If that doesn't make it anymore superficial; the cheaply made animation makes it, nearly unwatchable. So, in the end, it was a movie, nearly nobody wanted to see, as few people saw it. It was literally pulled from theaters in two weeks. That's how much, it bomb. Overall: Ignored by the masses, panned by the critics, and despised by true fans of the original show. This movie deserves it all. It's a piece of crap. Don't recommended watching at it.
Not Jem. No holigrams.
blades_n_stone26 October 2015
Dear Hollywood. This is how to do it wrong. Take a much loved nostalgia item and childhood institution like Jem, Ignore the source material, alienate the true fan base, Fail to advertise to the tween girl fan base and fail to mention its a family movie suitable for moms and daughters. I hate this movie. Because it is not what it claims to be. Jem and the Holograms. This is Hanna Montana with a be yourself and love your friends final moral.
Advertised as a re imagining(under a different Title) and presented to moms and daughters as a good family movie it could have done well. It is a touching and well told story, The acting is good and the plot is OK. But It is Not Jem. It was not well advertised and Kids now Don't know or care who Jem was. This was a film for 30+ year olds who grew up with it. And had we been given what we remembered we would have rewarded the studio with our money. But it was made for 14 year olds who have seen the same thing before as Hanna Montana.
So ends the one shot we will get at a Jem movie. A badly presented/advertised fraud that was a good family movie and had its potential ignored.
Advertised as a re imagining(under a different Title) and presented to moms and daughters as a good family movie it could have done well. It is a touching and well told story, The acting is good and the plot is OK. But It is Not Jem. It was not well advertised and Kids now Don't know or care who Jem was. This was a film for 30+ year olds who grew up with it. And had we been given what we remembered we would have rewarded the studio with our money. But it was made for 14 year olds who have seen the same thing before as Hanna Montana.
So ends the one shot we will get at a Jem movie. A badly presented/advertised fraud that was a good family movie and had its potential ignored.
Truly Outrageous
charlee-cooper4 November 2015
Really - it was truly outrageous because of how terrible it was. Jem in name only. This movie resembled absolutely NOTHING from the series and the acting was so cringeworthy, I could barely watch them spew their lines out. I would like to blame it on their youth, but there are many young female actors who are far superior. I really am disappointed in this movie, the trailer on YouTube has more dislikes than likes, that's how terrible it is. After all the excitement I had about finally seeing a Jem movie in the works, I can't really explain how I feel let down by it. If you grew up wanting to be Jem, like I did, then seriously you're going to leave the theatre feeling annoyed and quite frankly bored. The storyline left a lot to be desired, it really felt more like Hannah Montana than the Holograms - a pretty-yet-plain "uncool" sobbing girl who magically becomes a web sensation overnight, even though she's not a cat playing the piano - it just didn't feel real, especially when a wig and pink eyeshadow are hardly the tools of a master of disguise. It was genuinely nothing like I remember, nothing like the girls who inspired me to dye my hair bright colors and it was a total waste of money.
What? Why? Why would you do this to us?
DrDarkness16 June 2016
I loved Jem & The Holograms when I was little. Granted, the animation was simple, story was practically non-existent and the characters were so transparent that the adult me cried blood. But I had no idea that the movie people would do this.
Jem and the Holograms the movie is like they dug Jem from her grave, put some ground meat on her using a duct tape and finally sprinkled glitter all over the corpse. Yes, it's that bad. And no, I'm not exaggerating.
The only good thing about this movie is that we, who have seen it, can warn the others from watching it. Avoid the urge of clawing your eyes out and don't watch this. Also avoid getting your blood pressure skyrocketing by not watching this.
Did I emphasize it enough? Don't. Waste. Your. Time.
Jem and the Holograms the movie is like they dug Jem from her grave, put some ground meat on her using a duct tape and finally sprinkled glitter all over the corpse. Yes, it's that bad. And no, I'm not exaggerating.
The only good thing about this movie is that we, who have seen it, can warn the others from watching it. Avoid the urge of clawing your eyes out and don't watch this. Also avoid getting your blood pressure skyrocketing by not watching this.
Did I emphasize it enough? Don't. Waste. Your. Time.
what?
super-venom197931 October 2015
People... i think the 8-10 star reviews must be cast and staff of the film... bad... really bad... call it Hanna Montana the reckoning before you call it Jem. Please don't believe what they are saying above.. they already used social media to trick fans with their bogus casting call out and nicked you-tube scenes...
The acting is phoned in and talentless... the plot is recycled bumph that a four year old would wright and was mind numbing boring.. so much so i counted the hairs in my forearm to keep sane.... there were 12 as i pulled the rest out to form my own entertainment. Buy the DVD if you want a shiny Frisby or wind catcher.
The acting is phoned in and talentless... the plot is recycled bumph that a four year old would wright and was mind numbing boring.. so much so i counted the hairs in my forearm to keep sane.... there were 12 as i pulled the rest out to form my own entertainment. Buy the DVD if you want a shiny Frisby or wind catcher.
kind of an insult to human intelligence, and to its target target audience (whatever that is) as well
Quinoa19841 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Let's get down to brass tax, folks: Jem and the Holograms is out to rob you of your money. I don't mean that literally, like the movie comes in to your pockets and takes it all away, but... well, it's pretty close to that. Now, first off, two positive notes here: 1), the lead of the movie as "Jem", Aubrey Peeples, is a charming young actress and is ideally cast (Juliette Lewis is good too... at first, until she has to repeat the same thing scene after scene). Peeples is not a mind-blowingly amazing singer, but she is decent enough with just her screen presence on her own, and I hope to see her in other movies. Secondly, the cinematography, for the *actual film*, is nice to look at, at least when you can tell what's going on (some of the film is edited quickly in its clichéd style. So, not completely terrible. Just mostly.
Why does this movie 'pocket' your money? It has no good reason to exist, for one thing. It posits itself as being out there for fans of the show and young girls, that I assume is the primary audience for this movie (and I guess people like me who hear about a notorious movie and get curious, but I digress). It's not good for either; while I have not seen much of the original 80's show - it had its 15 minutes just before I got into TV as a kid, and it didn't seem to have the longevity that other shows at the time did, even as nostalgia - I don't know what it has to do with the series except for the smallest references. Maybe because it would be slightly less intolerable as a cartoon(?) Who knows. As for young/teenage girls, it just loads up so many clichés into one movie to the point where it looks like it's about to explode: it's all about telling girls to keep positive and put their music out there... because people can become sensationally famous from 36,000 YouTube views, you know.
It's supposed to have some kind of basis with the Justin Bieber phenomenon (the Bieber doc from a few years back had the same director as this by the way, mega-hack John M Chu). Forget that it took Bieber years of putting his stuff out there, and putting *himself* out there, but the fame for Jerrica-cum-Jem comes from one not-very-good song that gets a ton of hits. This movie doesn't understand how social media or youtube or fans of pop music really works, and that's what makes it insulting since, well, young girls and teenagers use this stuff practically more than anyone else out there!
As for the plot, goodness, which part? There's a robot named Synergy which Jerrica's (dead) father made when she was a little girl, and the robot has been in her possession for all these years and it finally comes alive as this super-advanced-piece-of-AI (i.e. this could've been a robot in WALL-E), and what does the robot do... it gives Jerrica clues that are sending her to different parts of the city - one of them just happens to be one of the gigs that Jem plays with her sister and fellow foster-family people - and it all leads up to a revelation that is... a video that is a, well, should I spoil this? To say that it is one of the most underwhelming things in movie history isn't hyperbole, especially if you are actually invested (somehow) in this story.
This movie jumbles this half-***ed plot with the rise-and-sorta-fall-and-OK thing with this pop group and what happens when Juliette Lewis' would-be evil music promoter gets her hands on them and after forming them into pop stars she makes Jem sign with her to go solo... because she's somehow so far more talented than the rest of the group(!)
The idea is to emphasize the theme of togetherness of family, but the filmmakers go through the clichés of a group falling apart and coming back together in such a short span of time it doesn't mean anything. The conflict here is confounding and lame, and it leads up to a wholly, ridiculously unnecessary heist sub-plot involving objects that should NOT have to be stolen. And how do these objects work as they do in the movie? Jem and the Holograms is also cheap as hell, which is interesting given how this is from a major studio (Universal, mostly on a roll this year with mega-hits), and also from the same toy company that put out this show as well as Transformers and My Little Pony in the 80's. I think Corman put more money into Rock N Roll High School. I'd say it was a cash grab about the property of the cartoon, but were people clamoring for it?
It's a cynical move that even involves just regular people - I doubt the YouTube commenters who are featured in the film were paid much less are actors - and if it didn't have this name and licensed piece of whatever then it would be at best on the Disney channel. So much of the movie either doesn't make sense, or features to keep people's attention the lamest pop music ever; I was pining for the days of Tiffany, it's that level of WTF.
It's one thing to make a movie that panders to an audience. It's another thing to mess up which audience it's for and mess up the attraction part of it all. It's not even the Transformers for girls, it's too cheap for that (and distractingly so, notice the audiences for the Jem shows that is cheated to look bigger than it is). To put it another way, look how the actual NAME of the movie is crowbarred in at the very end. It's that level of monumental (if occasionally watchable) BS.
Why does this movie 'pocket' your money? It has no good reason to exist, for one thing. It posits itself as being out there for fans of the show and young girls, that I assume is the primary audience for this movie (and I guess people like me who hear about a notorious movie and get curious, but I digress). It's not good for either; while I have not seen much of the original 80's show - it had its 15 minutes just before I got into TV as a kid, and it didn't seem to have the longevity that other shows at the time did, even as nostalgia - I don't know what it has to do with the series except for the smallest references. Maybe because it would be slightly less intolerable as a cartoon(?) Who knows. As for young/teenage girls, it just loads up so many clichés into one movie to the point where it looks like it's about to explode: it's all about telling girls to keep positive and put their music out there... because people can become sensationally famous from 36,000 YouTube views, you know.
It's supposed to have some kind of basis with the Justin Bieber phenomenon (the Bieber doc from a few years back had the same director as this by the way, mega-hack John M Chu). Forget that it took Bieber years of putting his stuff out there, and putting *himself* out there, but the fame for Jerrica-cum-Jem comes from one not-very-good song that gets a ton of hits. This movie doesn't understand how social media or youtube or fans of pop music really works, and that's what makes it insulting since, well, young girls and teenagers use this stuff practically more than anyone else out there!
As for the plot, goodness, which part? There's a robot named Synergy which Jerrica's (dead) father made when she was a little girl, and the robot has been in her possession for all these years and it finally comes alive as this super-advanced-piece-of-AI (i.e. this could've been a robot in WALL-E), and what does the robot do... it gives Jerrica clues that are sending her to different parts of the city - one of them just happens to be one of the gigs that Jem plays with her sister and fellow foster-family people - and it all leads up to a revelation that is... a video that is a, well, should I spoil this? To say that it is one of the most underwhelming things in movie history isn't hyperbole, especially if you are actually invested (somehow) in this story.
This movie jumbles this half-***ed plot with the rise-and-sorta-fall-and-OK thing with this pop group and what happens when Juliette Lewis' would-be evil music promoter gets her hands on them and after forming them into pop stars she makes Jem sign with her to go solo... because she's somehow so far more talented than the rest of the group(!)
The idea is to emphasize the theme of togetherness of family, but the filmmakers go through the clichés of a group falling apart and coming back together in such a short span of time it doesn't mean anything. The conflict here is confounding and lame, and it leads up to a wholly, ridiculously unnecessary heist sub-plot involving objects that should NOT have to be stolen. And how do these objects work as they do in the movie? Jem and the Holograms is also cheap as hell, which is interesting given how this is from a major studio (Universal, mostly on a roll this year with mega-hits), and also from the same toy company that put out this show as well as Transformers and My Little Pony in the 80's. I think Corman put more money into Rock N Roll High School. I'd say it was a cash grab about the property of the cartoon, but were people clamoring for it?
It's a cynical move that even involves just regular people - I doubt the YouTube commenters who are featured in the film were paid much less are actors - and if it didn't have this name and licensed piece of whatever then it would be at best on the Disney channel. So much of the movie either doesn't make sense, or features to keep people's attention the lamest pop music ever; I was pining for the days of Tiffany, it's that level of WTF.
It's one thing to make a movie that panders to an audience. It's another thing to mess up which audience it's for and mess up the attraction part of it all. It's not even the Transformers for girls, it's too cheap for that (and distractingly so, notice the audiences for the Jem shows that is cheated to look bigger than it is). To put it another way, look how the actual NAME of the movie is crowbarred in at the very end. It's that level of monumental (if occasionally watchable) BS.
Jem and the Holograms
JoBloTheMovieCritic3 January 2021
Yuck, yuck and more yuck
epifin810 November 2015
It's pretty easy to spot the industry reviews here. Took my niece and nephew over the weekend to see this one and afterwards they told me that they would have rather stayed home and been forced to do cleaning chores around their house for 2 hours. It simply amazes me how God awful some kids movies like this one can turn out to be. They have to be paying the actors minimal scale. There didn't seem to be any vision or direction with the script in this one. Seems like they were trying too hard to make the 80s out to be even more cheesier than it needed to be. The acting was terrible in this one. I would not waste your time or money going to see this. It isn't even worthy of watching as a rental.
Updated and fun
writingtumbler25 October 2015
Just came out of the theatre about 90 minutes ago. Loved it. It was fun, the music was terrific, and the cast was great.
I don't know why people thought recreating the original as a live-action movie would be a good idea. It was about a young woman (18 years old at the start of the series) who ran a record company, was a rock star, managed an orphanage, and two-timed her own boyfriend.
Given today's focus on authenticity vs. cultivated image, I thought the movie hit the nail on the head. I'm tired of remakes and remakes of remakes (Fantastic 4, anyone? Spiderman?). This one isn't a remake. Chu & Co. took the basic concepts (girl power, the question of identity) and redid it for this day and age.
If you're expecting the original, then watch the original. For once, Hollywood tried to make something original from the original. I, for one, am glad.
I don't know why people thought recreating the original as a live-action movie would be a good idea. It was about a young woman (18 years old at the start of the series) who ran a record company, was a rock star, managed an orphanage, and two-timed her own boyfriend.
Given today's focus on authenticity vs. cultivated image, I thought the movie hit the nail on the head. I'm tired of remakes and remakes of remakes (Fantastic 4, anyone? Spiderman?). This one isn't a remake. Chu & Co. took the basic concepts (girl power, the question of identity) and redid it for this day and age.
If you're expecting the original, then watch the original. For once, Hollywood tried to make something original from the original. I, for one, am glad.
One of the few movies that parents can have no problems letting their teens watch over and over. Terrific message.
cosmo_tiger19 January 2016
"I always knew you'd go viral." Jerrica (Peeples) and her sisters are very close but are in danger of being split up. After a YouTube video made by her goes viral she is approached by music executive Erica Raymond (Lewis) the girls think their problems are over, little do they know they are just beginning. This is a hard movie to review. I am a 37 year old man and I have a 12 year old daughter. I open with that because had this been just me watching it I would have probably shut it off 20 minutes in. My daughter loved it and was hooked from the beginning. That said, the message of this movie is excellent and anyone with a teen, boy or girl, will appreciate it. That message is really the reason to watch and makes the movie better and worth watching for that reason alone. Overall, made for teen girls, and one of the few movies made for that group that parents can have no problems letting them watch over and over. Terrific message. I give this a B, for that reason, my daughter gave it an A.
Show's over, Synergy
allexand2 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
It always amazes me when the big shots of Hollywood decide to adapt a popular property into a film and then change everything about it and expect the fans not to notice. "Jem and the Holograms" is yet another such cautionary tale, proving once again that for an industry whose job it is to figure out what people like, they can still be surprisingly clueless.
For those who don't know, "Jem" was an unmistakably 80's cartoon about an all-female rock band fronted by two sisters, whose deceased father left them an insanely advanced computer that could produce realistic holograms which the heroine, Jerrica Benton, used to alter her appearance and live a double life as a world famous rock star. There was also a rival girl group called the Misfits who, with their unscrupulous manager, Eric Raymond, sought to unseat Jem from the top of the charts. I remember it being notable because of the fact that, despite being a show targeted towards girls, it seemed to connect with boys as well.
OK, Now forget all that. Jerrica and her band are now foster teenagers, Eric Raymond is a woman who now owns the company that Jerrica originally owned, and is the mother of Jerrica's future boyfriend, Rio. Synergy has gone from a supercomputer to a tiny robot with missing pieces scattered all over Los Angeles County. Drummer Shana is no longer black. The Misfits do appear but only at the very end for a sequel hook. It comes off as more of a cross between "Hannah Montana" and "Earth To Echo."
This movie tries too hard to be hip. Jerrica gets discovered through Youtube, and lip service is paid to twitter and instagram throughout the movie. I understand thinking a younger audience would be turned off by the big hair and gaudy costumes of the original but in doing so, they likely alienated older fans and the movie is so bland it failed to excite younger ones.
This movie is also crippled by a woefully tight budget. Jem's live performances are in small clubs vainly dressed and shot to look bigger than they are. Footage of Jimmy Fallon, Duane Johnson, and Chris Pratt are used to emphasize Jem's fame but their quotes are obviously out of context and the editing is bungled horribly. One of the most baffling decisions is to use random Youtube clips for scene transitions, montages, and even in place of music cues or camera work to build tension. In other spots, Google Earth is used for location transitions and at one point they don't even hide the logo.
The script is filled with odd plot twists and the characters frequently behave like idiots. For starters, these people have little understanding of the music business. Erica Raymond signs Jerrica after one viral video with a paltry 35K views in Jerrica's own house because who needs an office? Then Jerrica refuses to sign unless she can bring her band despite the fact that her bandmates are an unproven commodity and Erica actually acquiesces. Of course, evil Erica eventually seduces Jerrica to go solo out of desperation to save her aunt's mortgage and Jerrica just signs without going to her friends for help.
The Synergy robot awakens upon arriving in LA and leads them on a wild goose chase for its missing parts just to give Jerrica a farewell video from her dad. Her dad is seen in flashbacks constantly doting on Jerrica but acting like her sister doesn't exist. Synergy's final missing part is Jerrica's star earrings which Erica has locked away in her office. Does she simply ask Erica for them? No, she decides to break in at night and steal them, not to mention the ridiculous deduction involved in figuring out they were the last piece. Finally, Rio just happens to find his father's will in the safe with the earrings naming him the owner of Starlight Records. Wouldn't the family lawyer have told him this already?
The worst part is that this film has hardly any music. The cartoon managed to feature three songs in its half-hour episodes and didn't reuse them until years later. They weren't always good, but it couldn't have been worse than the bland tween pop featured here. There are only really three songs (four if you count the acapella on the pier with Rio) and the only one that even barely rises above mediocrity is "Youngblood."
The performances are probably the best part of the movie though that's not saying much. Aubrey Peeples as Jerrica is OK, not great. The other girls do all right despite not having much of a character. Juliette Lewis gives the best performance mainly because, as the villain, she gets to have the most fun. The worst performance is from Kesha's brief cameo as Pizazz at the end. She tries to be wicked with her one big line, but mostly comes off looking stoned. I'm almost glad there won't be a sequel because she would likely ruin it.
I really don't understand what they were thinking here. "Jem and the Holograms" is an insulting, poorly made cash grab that deserved better and the worst part is that movie studios will use its failure as a reason not to give it another shot. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder why they didn't just call it something else if they weren't going to be faithful to the source material. It's also one of those movies that makes you think it turned out the way it did because the studios feared a faithful adaptation wouldn't be successful, and maybe it wouldn't have been, who knows? It certainly couldn't have done worse than the (current) fourth lowest wide screen theater gross and getting yanked from theaters after two weeks, I know that.
For those who don't know, "Jem" was an unmistakably 80's cartoon about an all-female rock band fronted by two sisters, whose deceased father left them an insanely advanced computer that could produce realistic holograms which the heroine, Jerrica Benton, used to alter her appearance and live a double life as a world famous rock star. There was also a rival girl group called the Misfits who, with their unscrupulous manager, Eric Raymond, sought to unseat Jem from the top of the charts. I remember it being notable because of the fact that, despite being a show targeted towards girls, it seemed to connect with boys as well.
OK, Now forget all that. Jerrica and her band are now foster teenagers, Eric Raymond is a woman who now owns the company that Jerrica originally owned, and is the mother of Jerrica's future boyfriend, Rio. Synergy has gone from a supercomputer to a tiny robot with missing pieces scattered all over Los Angeles County. Drummer Shana is no longer black. The Misfits do appear but only at the very end for a sequel hook. It comes off as more of a cross between "Hannah Montana" and "Earth To Echo."
This movie tries too hard to be hip. Jerrica gets discovered through Youtube, and lip service is paid to twitter and instagram throughout the movie. I understand thinking a younger audience would be turned off by the big hair and gaudy costumes of the original but in doing so, they likely alienated older fans and the movie is so bland it failed to excite younger ones.
This movie is also crippled by a woefully tight budget. Jem's live performances are in small clubs vainly dressed and shot to look bigger than they are. Footage of Jimmy Fallon, Duane Johnson, and Chris Pratt are used to emphasize Jem's fame but their quotes are obviously out of context and the editing is bungled horribly. One of the most baffling decisions is to use random Youtube clips for scene transitions, montages, and even in place of music cues or camera work to build tension. In other spots, Google Earth is used for location transitions and at one point they don't even hide the logo.
The script is filled with odd plot twists and the characters frequently behave like idiots. For starters, these people have little understanding of the music business. Erica Raymond signs Jerrica after one viral video with a paltry 35K views in Jerrica's own house because who needs an office? Then Jerrica refuses to sign unless she can bring her band despite the fact that her bandmates are an unproven commodity and Erica actually acquiesces. Of course, evil Erica eventually seduces Jerrica to go solo out of desperation to save her aunt's mortgage and Jerrica just signs without going to her friends for help.
The Synergy robot awakens upon arriving in LA and leads them on a wild goose chase for its missing parts just to give Jerrica a farewell video from her dad. Her dad is seen in flashbacks constantly doting on Jerrica but acting like her sister doesn't exist. Synergy's final missing part is Jerrica's star earrings which Erica has locked away in her office. Does she simply ask Erica for them? No, she decides to break in at night and steal them, not to mention the ridiculous deduction involved in figuring out they were the last piece. Finally, Rio just happens to find his father's will in the safe with the earrings naming him the owner of Starlight Records. Wouldn't the family lawyer have told him this already?
The worst part is that this film has hardly any music. The cartoon managed to feature three songs in its half-hour episodes and didn't reuse them until years later. They weren't always good, but it couldn't have been worse than the bland tween pop featured here. There are only really three songs (four if you count the acapella on the pier with Rio) and the only one that even barely rises above mediocrity is "Youngblood."
The performances are probably the best part of the movie though that's not saying much. Aubrey Peeples as Jerrica is OK, not great. The other girls do all right despite not having much of a character. Juliette Lewis gives the best performance mainly because, as the villain, she gets to have the most fun. The worst performance is from Kesha's brief cameo as Pizazz at the end. She tries to be wicked with her one big line, but mostly comes off looking stoned. I'm almost glad there won't be a sequel because she would likely ruin it.
I really don't understand what they were thinking here. "Jem and the Holograms" is an insulting, poorly made cash grab that deserved better and the worst part is that movie studios will use its failure as a reason not to give it another shot. It's one of those movies that makes you wonder why they didn't just call it something else if they weren't going to be faithful to the source material. It's also one of those movies that makes you think it turned out the way it did because the studios feared a faithful adaptation wouldn't be successful, and maybe it wouldn't have been, who knows? It certainly couldn't have done worse than the (current) fourth lowest wide screen theater gross and getting yanked from theaters after two weeks, I know that.
Seriously?
admiral_kirk30 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
** may contain spoilers, may not... read at your own risk ** This movie was NOTHING even close to the "Jem and the Holograms" cartoon.. to the point that it's being dubbed "Jem in Name Only".. you know a movie is awful when the Official preview on YouTube has more Dislikes than Likes.. and to add more insult to this junk the pirates aren't even bothering to rip it off.
They didn't even consult with the shows creator on this movie. destroyed the whole origin of "Jem" and turned it into a cross between Justin Beiber & Hanna Montana.
Save your $$$ and watch something else, this will ruin your memories of "Jem and the Holograms"..
They didn't even consult with the shows creator on this movie. destroyed the whole origin of "Jem" and turned it into a cross between Justin Beiber & Hanna Montana.
Save your $$$ and watch something else, this will ruin your memories of "Jem and the Holograms"..
"Jem and the Holograms" isn't the former and is too much of the latter.
dave-mcclain24 October 2015
Some movies are just dumb. But I don't mean to say that the people making the movie are dumb. Unfortunately, in spite of the best efforts of many smart, talented and hard-working people, "dumb" is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about a particular movie. Take "Jem and the Holograms" (PG, 1:58) for example. Just look at the title. The lead character is a singer who performs under the nickname that her father gave her
but "Jem" should be spelled with a "G"! And why call the band members "the Holograms" (something that isn't really there) when part of the point of the movie is that Jem's musicians are an indispensable part of the act? Now, before someone says that I don't know what I'm talking about, yes, I am aware that this movie is a live action version of a popular mid-late 1980s animated TV series of the same name (and the same spelling), but that doesn't mean that the adaptation (or the original) doesn't contain some dumb ideas. The TV series was only created to help sell toys! That may be good business, but it's kind of a dumb reason for people to start watching a new show, which basically amounts to a half-hour toy commercial. Still, having said all that (and with more "dumb" complaints to come), I admit that "dumb" is rarely an all-or-nothing proposition and even "dumb" movies can be mildly entertaining.
Jem, whose real name is Jerrica Benton (Aubrey Peeples), is a teen who lives with her younger sister, Kimber (Stefanie Scott) and their aunt Bailey (Molly Ringwald), who took the girls in after their father died. Also in the house are Bailey's two previously adopted daughters, Aja (Hayley Kiyoko) and Shana (Aurora Perrineau). The four teenage girls live as sisters and are all into music and fashion. Jerrica and Kimber write songs and all four girls play instruments. They also all comment on each other's clothing and hairstyle choices, sometimes even doing the "favor" of making changes in each other's styles.
One day when the girls all decide to entertain themselves by putting on fun make-up, wigs and clothes to make a "music video", the chronically private Jerrica is inspired to record one of her songs on video and in costume as "Jem". Kimber, who is the opposite of Jerrica and lives her entire life online, gets a hold of Jerrica's video clip and posts it on YouTube. "Jem" becomes, quite literally, an overnight sensation. The video goes viral and everyone is asking "Who is Jem?" One of those asking is Starlight Music CEO Erica Raymond (Juliette Lewis) who finds Jerrica and offers her money to perform three shows in L.A. Jerrica agrees – on one firmly-held condition – that her sisters come with her as her band.
Erica (the female version of television Jem's nemesis, Eric) isn't the magnanimous God-send she appears to be. Erica's the kind of person who casually insults people when she talks, insists on having her way, and isn't above manipulating people to get it. Even after meeting Erica, Aunt Bailey lets the four teenage girls go back with Erica to L.A. (pretty dumb, if you ask me) without any more supervision than Erica, her driver, Zipper (Nathan Moore), and Erica's son and employee, Rio Pacheco (Ryan Guzman). Erica has the girls stay in the "Rock Star Suite" in Starlight Mansion. Rio is right down the hall, but that still doesn't stop these very independent girls from getting into some serious mischief.
"That's when things start to get weird," says Jerrica's narration, referring to their first night in Starlight Mansion. (Taking out the word "weird" and substituting "dumb" and/or "dumber" would be more accurate.) A small robot which Jerrica and Kimber's dad invented (but could never get to work) and which Jerrica holds onto for inspiration, suddenly starts beeping and flashing. The robot, 51n3rg.y (pronounced "synergy"), leads the girls – and the audience – into a subplot which has Jerrica searching for clues to something that her father left for her to find when she became old enough to do so.
Back to the main story. The girls perform in L.A. and they're a hit, even though Jem ends up looking like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Sia somehow joined their DNA, had a child and worked together on her look. Jerrica's conflicted about the artifice of her on-stage persona, but at least she's happy thinking that she's going to make enough money to help Aunt Bailey out of some financial trouble, and then the other shoe drops. Erica kicks her manipulations into overdrive, reveals her true intentions and forces Jerrica into a very difficult choice that will have long-term implications for all involved (especially if a planned sequel is filmed, as foreshadowed in a mid-credits scene which features Ke$ha as a character from the TV show).
"Jem and the Holograms" has its charms, but it's still basically pretty dumb. Besides my earlier points, there's Jem's super-fast rise to stardom (ridiculously fast - even for the internet age), Erica's ridiculous statement that she can find another "Jem" and no one would notice (even in the internet age), that robot's capabilities and how they come about, and a major conflict's resolution that is sappy and rushed.
On the positive side, Ringwald gives an excellent performance and the band performs some well-written songs that have a good beat. The movie is family-friendly and gives us some good lessons in loyalty, integrity and being yourself, but the film is unlikely to hold much appeal for many people beyond die-hard fans of the original TV show or girls currently between the ages of 6 and 12. Unfortunately, there's only so much dumbness that some decent acting and a few good songs and positive messages can overcome in one film. Heck, maybe you think this review is dumb, but I'm still giving this movie a "C-".
Jem, whose real name is Jerrica Benton (Aubrey Peeples), is a teen who lives with her younger sister, Kimber (Stefanie Scott) and their aunt Bailey (Molly Ringwald), who took the girls in after their father died. Also in the house are Bailey's two previously adopted daughters, Aja (Hayley Kiyoko) and Shana (Aurora Perrineau). The four teenage girls live as sisters and are all into music and fashion. Jerrica and Kimber write songs and all four girls play instruments. They also all comment on each other's clothing and hairstyle choices, sometimes even doing the "favor" of making changes in each other's styles.
One day when the girls all decide to entertain themselves by putting on fun make-up, wigs and clothes to make a "music video", the chronically private Jerrica is inspired to record one of her songs on video and in costume as "Jem". Kimber, who is the opposite of Jerrica and lives her entire life online, gets a hold of Jerrica's video clip and posts it on YouTube. "Jem" becomes, quite literally, an overnight sensation. The video goes viral and everyone is asking "Who is Jem?" One of those asking is Starlight Music CEO Erica Raymond (Juliette Lewis) who finds Jerrica and offers her money to perform three shows in L.A. Jerrica agrees – on one firmly-held condition – that her sisters come with her as her band.
Erica (the female version of television Jem's nemesis, Eric) isn't the magnanimous God-send she appears to be. Erica's the kind of person who casually insults people when she talks, insists on having her way, and isn't above manipulating people to get it. Even after meeting Erica, Aunt Bailey lets the four teenage girls go back with Erica to L.A. (pretty dumb, if you ask me) without any more supervision than Erica, her driver, Zipper (Nathan Moore), and Erica's son and employee, Rio Pacheco (Ryan Guzman). Erica has the girls stay in the "Rock Star Suite" in Starlight Mansion. Rio is right down the hall, but that still doesn't stop these very independent girls from getting into some serious mischief.
"That's when things start to get weird," says Jerrica's narration, referring to their first night in Starlight Mansion. (Taking out the word "weird" and substituting "dumb" and/or "dumber" would be more accurate.) A small robot which Jerrica and Kimber's dad invented (but could never get to work) and which Jerrica holds onto for inspiration, suddenly starts beeping and flashing. The robot, 51n3rg.y (pronounced "synergy"), leads the girls – and the audience – into a subplot which has Jerrica searching for clues to something that her father left for her to find when she became old enough to do so.
Back to the main story. The girls perform in L.A. and they're a hit, even though Jem ends up looking like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Sia somehow joined their DNA, had a child and worked together on her look. Jerrica's conflicted about the artifice of her on-stage persona, but at least she's happy thinking that she's going to make enough money to help Aunt Bailey out of some financial trouble, and then the other shoe drops. Erica kicks her manipulations into overdrive, reveals her true intentions and forces Jerrica into a very difficult choice that will have long-term implications for all involved (especially if a planned sequel is filmed, as foreshadowed in a mid-credits scene which features Ke$ha as a character from the TV show).
"Jem and the Holograms" has its charms, but it's still basically pretty dumb. Besides my earlier points, there's Jem's super-fast rise to stardom (ridiculously fast - even for the internet age), Erica's ridiculous statement that she can find another "Jem" and no one would notice (even in the internet age), that robot's capabilities and how they come about, and a major conflict's resolution that is sappy and rushed.
On the positive side, Ringwald gives an excellent performance and the band performs some well-written songs that have a good beat. The movie is family-friendly and gives us some good lessons in loyalty, integrity and being yourself, but the film is unlikely to hold much appeal for many people beyond die-hard fans of the original TV show or girls currently between the ages of 6 and 12. Unfortunately, there's only so much dumbness that some decent acting and a few good songs and positive messages can overcome in one film. Heck, maybe you think this review is dumb, but I'm still giving this movie a "C-".
Soul sucking piece of garbage
tonymars-630876 June 2021
This Movie is "Outrageously" Bad!!
xgray-0387320 April 2017
I don't even know why Universal or Hashbro Studios would even bother green-lighting this movie if it wasn't going to stay true to the original source material at all. I mean, it has absolutely nothing to do with the cartoons or the IDW comic books and it has no idea on what it was supposed to be about. Like is supposed to be like this social satire of the music industry and social media and you-tube stars?! Or is it supposed to be like the "Earth-to-Echo" rip-off about a scavenger hunt leading to missing pieces of a robot?! But, what's really sad about this movie is that there are some very talented actors that really should've been in better movies than this one. And I mean, some actual young talented actors that were supposed to start off their careers by doing some good roles in movies and TV shows. But, this is supposed to be their big break?!
If you're like a huge fan of Jem and the Holograms, whether it's the TV show or the IDW comic books, I'd probably stick with either of those two options. But, don't bother with this movie. You'll just be straight-up insulted by it. But, if you're like someone who has literally no knowledge about Jem and the Holograms at all....I'd still say pick up an issue of the IDW comic books or go watch the TV show, instead.
Bottom-line, this movie was "truly, truly, truly outrageously" bad.
If you're like a huge fan of Jem and the Holograms, whether it's the TV show or the IDW comic books, I'd probably stick with either of those two options. But, don't bother with this movie. You'll just be straight-up insulted by it. But, if you're like someone who has literally no knowledge about Jem and the Holograms at all....I'd still say pick up an issue of the IDW comic books or go watch the TV show, instead.
Bottom-line, this movie was "truly, truly, truly outrageously" bad.
Movie of the year so far!
TonightTurnYourWeaponsToSnow27 October 2015
Jem and the Holograms was one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life, and so far it's currently my top pick for 2015.
It really does hit your heart with open-minded messages: fame is never good and always comes with the consequences.
My 8 year old daughter fought back against her leash, but by the time the movie ended, her opinions had changed. She totally loved it and she wanted it on Blu Ray instantly. Obviously though, it's not out on Blu Ray yet which really upset her. Just goes to show how good it was!
My favorite part was the acting. We've got some really good performances here and I can tell these actors/actresses are upcoming mega-hitters!
Go see Jem and the Holograms and your money will be in safe hands for a sequel, and boy, do you want a sequel after watching this! AMAZING!
People who hate it are clearly sinners who don't understand the messages. You want blood and death, really? NO! This is 2015, and with feminism up and coming in the world, I think this shows really strong political values!
It's okay to be yourself! You are a woman and proud! These men don't need you!
Come into the light away from these Star Wars nonsense alien rubbish movies! Jem and the Holograms opens up a new path for strong women into the future of 2016!
Thanks.
~TurnYourWeaponsToSnow.
It really does hit your heart with open-minded messages: fame is never good and always comes with the consequences.
My 8 year old daughter fought back against her leash, but by the time the movie ended, her opinions had changed. She totally loved it and she wanted it on Blu Ray instantly. Obviously though, it's not out on Blu Ray yet which really upset her. Just goes to show how good it was!
My favorite part was the acting. We've got some really good performances here and I can tell these actors/actresses are upcoming mega-hitters!
Go see Jem and the Holograms and your money will be in safe hands for a sequel, and boy, do you want a sequel after watching this! AMAZING!
People who hate it are clearly sinners who don't understand the messages. You want blood and death, really? NO! This is 2015, and with feminism up and coming in the world, I think this shows really strong political values!
It's okay to be yourself! You are a woman and proud! These men don't need you!
Come into the light away from these Star Wars nonsense alien rubbish movies! Jem and the Holograms opens up a new path for strong women into the future of 2016!
Thanks.
~TurnYourWeaponsToSnow.
It's what you are probably expecting
Wizard-815 April 2017
Yeah, yeah... I know that this kind of movie is not my usual cup of tea. In fact, several months ago I caught a couple of episodes of the 1980s animated TV show that this movie was based on, and I thought they were silly crud. The only reason why I decided to watch this movie was that I was curious to see how they would make a "Jem" movie on a budget of just $5 million. I will give the filmmakers this: The movie does look a lot more expensive than it actually is. And I thought that the acting wasn't all that bad. But the movie ultimately fails because of its script. The story is padded out to an excessive level, lasting almost two hours in length; it shouldn't have had to be that long. Well, it could have worked at two hours in length, but as it is, the story is alternately boring and extremely predictable. If you have seen ANY movie before about young people becoming famous, you'll always be one step ahead of this telling. Even if you were a fan of the "Jem" television show, it's unlikely you'll find this live action version endearing.
Would watch for the fun of it.
jurrito30 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
CONTAINS SPOILERS
Yea so its not like the 80s cartoon, It may not be the same plot line like the cartoon but at least it has the same characters.. I hope they can give this movie a second chance if there is a sequel. Since they added the Misfits at the end. But then again its just my opinion.
I believe it was meant to be a film for family to watch and enjoy, and to not look at the negatives even though most of the people who watched it are furious by the fact that its nothing like the TV show. I rate it a 7-10 because the acting was pretty great and so were the songs... I think if they advertised it a little more it could've done better.
Yea so its not like the 80s cartoon, It may not be the same plot line like the cartoon but at least it has the same characters.. I hope they can give this movie a second chance if there is a sequel. Since they added the Misfits at the end. But then again its just my opinion.
I believe it was meant to be a film for family to watch and enjoy, and to not look at the negatives even though most of the people who watched it are furious by the fact that its nothing like the TV show. I rate it a 7-10 because the acting was pretty great and so were the songs... I think if they advertised it a little more it could've done better.
My angry rant on Jem and the Holograms
MattBrady0995 December 2015
Jem and the holocaust is one of the most annoying piece of sh*t film making I've seen since Home Alone 4.
The whole movie tries so hard to be inspiring, uplifting and mainstream, but it fails on doing that and it just came off embarrassing. I also have to comment on is how freaking unrealistic the movie is, I mean how Jem gets famous is so freaking stupid. She makes an ordinary, unoriginal and just by the books YouTube video of herself singing (Just like everyone else on YouTube), but suddenly over night she becomes a smash hit, everyone loves her and shes going to be on TV, even when the video itself was alright and very basic with nothing special or even famous worthy about the video, but nope, in this movies dumb logic that's what it takes. I'm not joking, that's what happens in this movie and it annoyed the crap out of me, just because the movie acts like this stuff happens in real life when it doesn't, I mean it took Justin Bieber awhile to get famous and he had to work hard for it.
Another thing that made this movie truly awful is how the movie tries to have a "message" about today's music, because the main characters talk about how music today has lost it's touch and how generic it is, and somehow they music is going to bring the music we love back on it's feet, but this is where the movie really shoots itself in the foot, because the music is this movie is some of the most generic, soulless, bland and just a rip-off of other pop artists that we have right now. This movie has the balls to call today's songs "generic", even when the music is this movie might be ten times more generic or worst. The movie acts like it has a point even when it doesn't, it's atrocious and came off pretty pretentious when it came to the "message". I can't imagine people listening to this music and call it "good". This is the type of music that 10 minute year old babies will enjoy.
The character's are bland, the acting is sh*t and the music is so generic. I feel so bad for the fans of the original Jem for witnessing such a train wreck like this.
Overall Jem and the Holocaust (And yes, I'm still calling it that), is just atrocious, awful and unspeakable. Everything in this movie failed.
The whole movie tries so hard to be inspiring, uplifting and mainstream, but it fails on doing that and it just came off embarrassing. I also have to comment on is how freaking unrealistic the movie is, I mean how Jem gets famous is so freaking stupid. She makes an ordinary, unoriginal and just by the books YouTube video of herself singing (Just like everyone else on YouTube), but suddenly over night she becomes a smash hit, everyone loves her and shes going to be on TV, even when the video itself was alright and very basic with nothing special or even famous worthy about the video, but nope, in this movies dumb logic that's what it takes. I'm not joking, that's what happens in this movie and it annoyed the crap out of me, just because the movie acts like this stuff happens in real life when it doesn't, I mean it took Justin Bieber awhile to get famous and he had to work hard for it.
Another thing that made this movie truly awful is how the movie tries to have a "message" about today's music, because the main characters talk about how music today has lost it's touch and how generic it is, and somehow they music is going to bring the music we love back on it's feet, but this is where the movie really shoots itself in the foot, because the music is this movie is some of the most generic, soulless, bland and just a rip-off of other pop artists that we have right now. This movie has the balls to call today's songs "generic", even when the music is this movie might be ten times more generic or worst. The movie acts like it has a point even when it doesn't, it's atrocious and came off pretty pretentious when it came to the "message". I can't imagine people listening to this music and call it "good". This is the type of music that 10 minute year old babies will enjoy.
The character's are bland, the acting is sh*t and the music is so generic. I feel so bad for the fans of the original Jem for witnessing such a train wreck like this.
Overall Jem and the Holocaust (And yes, I'm still calling it that), is just atrocious, awful and unspeakable. Everything in this movie failed.
I really liked it.
carmenhudson-5391626 October 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This movie was actually very true to the original cartoon. My review does contain a spoiler.
The plot of the movie actually followed the plot of the first few episodes of season 1 very closely. In the original cartoon Jerrica is running a home for foster kids along with Kimber, Aja, and Shana. It's going broke. She needs cash. And she's lost control of her company to Eric Raymond. (The movie's villain, Erica Raymond, basically acts exactly like Eric did–which made her a great villain).
Fortunately, they find Synergy, launch Jem and the Holograms, play a concert and save the day. A few seasons later the band briefly breaks up because Jem is getting all of the attention and being treated like a solo act–and Jem is letting herself be treated like a solo act. She has to get out there and fix it. Again, this happens in the movie.
Jem goes through the movie with a great deal of agency. It all had the classic Jem spirit.
I was able to sit through the film going: "Yep, that happened in the cartoon, and that happened, and that happened "
Give it a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised if you are a fellow JtH fan.
The plot of the movie actually followed the plot of the first few episodes of season 1 very closely. In the original cartoon Jerrica is running a home for foster kids along with Kimber, Aja, and Shana. It's going broke. She needs cash. And she's lost control of her company to Eric Raymond. (The movie's villain, Erica Raymond, basically acts exactly like Eric did–which made her a great villain).
Fortunately, they find Synergy, launch Jem and the Holograms, play a concert and save the day. A few seasons later the band briefly breaks up because Jem is getting all of the attention and being treated like a solo act–and Jem is letting herself be treated like a solo act. She has to get out there and fix it. Again, this happens in the movie.
Jem goes through the movie with a great deal of agency. It all had the classic Jem spirit.
I was able to sit through the film going: "Yep, that happened in the cartoon, and that happened, and that happened "
Give it a chance. You might be pleasantly surprised if you are a fellow JtH fan.
A great family movie you miss due to the critics...
cgrill87 March 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Now I am over 40 with some pretty old fashion music sense. I didn't watch Jem, maybe an episode or two.... I watched Transformers and GI Joe, but I sort of knew the characters. Well, we missed this in theaters last year and finally rented it over the weekend. My kids have been biting at the bit to see this, so we did.
I have to admit, I thought this was a wonderful family made origin story for an update on the Jem idea. The girls (eventually Rio) helping Jem solve the robot's puzzle had the mystery energy of the old cartoon. Many of the outfits were reminiscent of the cartoon's style too. The whole idea used using internet viral videos was pretty neat, considering this whole "ME" era of our country currently in this very hi-tech and very selfish times. Yet, Jem's viral music video was different, and her FAME helped give others a very inspirational type of not just viral fame, but a positive energy helping others 'feel better' not found in any other movies. The music, while admit, not very memorable, had energy and was enjoyable to listen to. Wish the music had been a little more.... Bubblegum Crisis style to it... or use some of the music from the old cartoon, did they? I have no idea. But it was good. Finishing the robot was not the real main plot, but in a way it was... the plot revolved around Jem and her band. They fall out, and eventually get all back together again due to an interesting twist.
This leads me to the ending. Wow. The majority of the people that either, failed to see the movie due to the trailer, or failed to see the ending, really missed the end to the end. The Misfits DO fit into the plot. They WERE there prior to Jem's rise to fame (we just don't see that part). And the ending leads to a possible sequel, I guess we're just not going to see... I would have LOVED to see the Misfits modern techno music go against the more funk/rock of the Jem & the Holograms. If I was a betting man, I bet they were going for a trilogy... and all we've seen is their origin story. Origin for Jem's band and the Misfits origin... unfortunately we're not going to see a sequel. Where it could very well spurned more meat & potatoes from the original cartoon stories with both bands in play in the sequel and a possible all-out cat fight.
All girls, all music, mystery and a rise to fame. Jem, it's not a bad movie if you watch it. Or you can be in the other camp, and say it's bad, not see it because in your mind you 'know' its bad and critique it before even seeing it. Which tends to be the norm today and the easiest way to destroy good family movies.
I have to admit, I thought this was a wonderful family made origin story for an update on the Jem idea. The girls (eventually Rio) helping Jem solve the robot's puzzle had the mystery energy of the old cartoon. Many of the outfits were reminiscent of the cartoon's style too. The whole idea used using internet viral videos was pretty neat, considering this whole "ME" era of our country currently in this very hi-tech and very selfish times. Yet, Jem's viral music video was different, and her FAME helped give others a very inspirational type of not just viral fame, but a positive energy helping others 'feel better' not found in any other movies. The music, while admit, not very memorable, had energy and was enjoyable to listen to. Wish the music had been a little more.... Bubblegum Crisis style to it... or use some of the music from the old cartoon, did they? I have no idea. But it was good. Finishing the robot was not the real main plot, but in a way it was... the plot revolved around Jem and her band. They fall out, and eventually get all back together again due to an interesting twist.
This leads me to the ending. Wow. The majority of the people that either, failed to see the movie due to the trailer, or failed to see the ending, really missed the end to the end. The Misfits DO fit into the plot. They WERE there prior to Jem's rise to fame (we just don't see that part). And the ending leads to a possible sequel, I guess we're just not going to see... I would have LOVED to see the Misfits modern techno music go against the more funk/rock of the Jem & the Holograms. If I was a betting man, I bet they were going for a trilogy... and all we've seen is their origin story. Origin for Jem's band and the Misfits origin... unfortunately we're not going to see a sequel. Where it could very well spurned more meat & potatoes from the original cartoon stories with both bands in play in the sequel and a possible all-out cat fight.
All girls, all music, mystery and a rise to fame. Jem, it's not a bad movie if you watch it. Or you can be in the other camp, and say it's bad, not see it because in your mind you 'know' its bad and critique it before even seeing it. Which tends to be the norm today and the easiest way to destroy good family movies.
they literally raped the cartoon
woundedheartx119 August 2016
"Jem and Holograms" is just a bad, freakin move. I can't put it simpler than that.In case you're wondering, I grew up on the Hasbro produced cartoon int he 80's, it was great, cool songs, fun fashion and funky characters, and contrary to popular belief, they did tackle some issues, like drug abuse, post traumatic combat disorder, absentee fathers, love triangles, sexual identity, jealousy, etc. Damn good cartoon. All of this makes the movie such an incredible disappointment!
Just on it's own this movie blows chunks, we start of with shaky cam, and we get this again and again. Then we are introduced to Jem, unfortunately Audrey Peeples has the charisma of a limp carrot. Sorry, but that hurts. What follows from director Chu, who apparently never met a scene he didn't like, is boring, boring and well, boring. There's no reason to care about this, the message goes against the very concept of the plot. Synergy, a rather cool holographic babe on the cartoon, is reduced to a cheesy looking 80's style robot from Kenner!! One horrendous scene has Jem and girls harmonizing for Rio, this develops into nothing,but goes on for like 20 minutes!!!
Seriously this movie hurt my brain, it literally made me sick, it is the cinematic equivalent off root canal. Didn't anyone ever hear of editing!? 2hrs to tell this story !?!?!? SO much of this movie is WTF, but I did give it 3 or 10. Why u might ask? Juliette Lewis as Erica Raymond nails her character, she's spot on snarky and the only fun character in the flick. Plus there is a entertaining cameo that pops up in the middle of the credits. Alos,well they did get the names right...
Just on it's own this movie blows chunks, we start of with shaky cam, and we get this again and again. Then we are introduced to Jem, unfortunately Audrey Peeples has the charisma of a limp carrot. Sorry, but that hurts. What follows from director Chu, who apparently never met a scene he didn't like, is boring, boring and well, boring. There's no reason to care about this, the message goes against the very concept of the plot. Synergy, a rather cool holographic babe on the cartoon, is reduced to a cheesy looking 80's style robot from Kenner!! One horrendous scene has Jem and girls harmonizing for Rio, this develops into nothing,but goes on for like 20 minutes!!!
Seriously this movie hurt my brain, it literally made me sick, it is the cinematic equivalent off root canal. Didn't anyone ever hear of editing!? 2hrs to tell this story !?!?!? SO much of this movie is WTF, but I did give it 3 or 10. Why u might ask? Juliette Lewis as Erica Raymond nails her character, she's spot on snarky and the only fun character in the flick. Plus there is a entertaining cameo that pops up in the middle of the credits. Alos,well they did get the names right...
Total Garbage
ronnoswad22 February 2017
Jon Chu should be banded from anything prior to 2000. This was really really bad. I have seen amateurs with old camcorders make better films than the garbage he created with this movie. Actually calling it garbage is an insult to garbage. No originality it is basically Hannah Montana, why didn't he just call it Hannah Montana and friends that would have been more applicable this had absolutely nothing to do with Jem, and to make it worse the script, sucked....
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