Jem and the Holograms Trailer, Images, And Plot Details
Can the film version of iconic 1980s cartoon, Jem, possibly live up to its truly outrageous legacy?
Jem is having a bit of a moment.
The popular 1980s cartoon character known for glamour, glitter, fashion and fame is currently starring in her own well-received comic from IDW and, more excitingly, will be making the leap to the big screen when Jem and the Holograms hits theaters on October 23rd.
HAW HAW.
Sorry. It's just that I wasn't expecting this to be such a goofy mix of forced irreverence and unintentional camp with moments of JEM IS SERIOUS thrown in. Oof. (Another trailer can be seen on Buzzfeed). Then again, maybe I should lighten up because after all this is a movie based on a cartoon about a musical group whose lead singer relies on holograms to do her heavy lifting for her while her more interesting punk rivals wreak havoc. So, trailer aside will the movie be worth a damn to fans of the often over-the-top toon? That remains to be seen, but there are reasons to be concerned. The film is being released without any input from Jem creator Christy Marx, and that coupled with several other inexcusable divergences from the source material (a seeming lack of The Holograms' musical rivals The Misfits, the tonal unbalance glimpsed above, etc.) have some fans apprehensive to say the least. Here's the official synopsis via Universal Studios:
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ Jem and the Holograms, four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (Step Up series, G.I. Joe: Retaliation), the musical adventure stars Aubrey Peeples, Stefanie Scott, Aurora Perrineau, Hayley Kiyoko, Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis. Jem and the Holograms, based on the iconic Hasbro animated TV series, is written by Ryan Landels and produced by Chu, Jason Blum for Blumhouse Productions, Scooter Braun for SB Projects, Bennett Schneir, and Brian Goldner and Stephen Davis of Hasbro Studios. www.jemthemovie.com
Still not sure if you need Rio to console you or not about the movie? Then head to USA Today and check out their photo gallery from the flick. The article also shares some additional details about the film, which shows how Jerrica overcomes her stage fright and the grief of her father's death by embracing her pink-haired, larger-than-life alter ego:
"She never wanted to pursue the big costumes, lots of makeup, all that stuff. But in a way it helps her hide and have the confidence to come out and be this persona."
Still, Chu adds, Jerrica worries that people will judge her because she doesn't see herself as Jem. "We see the transformation as she gets brought into it, getting seduced by it, and at the same time trying to find her real self in between those two identities."
Ryan Guzman co-stars as the love interest Rio, while Juliette Lewis is the film's chief antagonist Erica Raymond, a Starlight Music record executive and the kind of person "tempting you with everything you really do want and need deep down somewhere in your dark place," says Chu.
And then there's this really distressing bit of information:
The director is incorporating fans' contributions into the movie, asking them to submit performance videos and sing the praises of the old cartoon for use as a sort of "crowdsourced Greek chorus."
This feels tonally off given Chu's apparent jettisoning of crucial elements of the Jem mythos (a sentence that I cannot believe I actually just wrote as a grown-ass man, but one that I stand by nevertheless). Why would he have fans sing the praises of the toon when he himself doesn't seem fond enough of it to include Synergy and The Misfits? Weird.
On the plus side, I think that Aubrey Peeples of TV's Nashville is inspired casting as Jerrica Benton/Jem, and director Jon M. Chu did a credible job with G.I. Joe: Retailation, so its pretty clear he knows how to bring cheesy '80s cartoons to life. And famed Raymond henchman Zipper is in the movie! I'm less thrilled about the social media angle the flick is taking to explain Jerrica's alter ego, and did I mention that it looks like The Misfits are nowhere to be found? Shameful.
Maybe this movie will surprise us all by having a clever Josie and the Pussycats-type approach and be full of knowing satire while still respecting the source material. Even if Juliette Lewis is no Parker Posey. But hey, stranger things have happened!
We'll have much more on the film as its release date approaches. Until then, we'll probably just listen to "Don't Look Now" and feel cranky for a bit over all of this. If nothing else, the Sienna D'Enema Jiz parody to come out of all of this will be amazing.