Review of Jem and the Holograms (2015) by Edward P — 21 Oct 2015

Ok...here's my lengthy JEM and the Holograms movie review.... So anyone that knows me knows about my absolute love for all things JEM and the Holograms. My friends and I grew up on this iconic 80's cartoon series so when I found out that there was going to be a film adaptation of my beloved series, I had mixed feelings. As any of my fellow '80's babies have witnessed in the past many of our childhood shows have been translated HORRIBLY onto the big screen by Hollywood. For instance: "G.I. Joe" and "Transformers" to name a few. A few months ago the movie's trailer debuted and it left me and thousands of others royally disappointed and incredibly annoyed because it depicted something that looked nothing like the JEM and the Holograms series that we all grew up with and loved. The movie appeared to not include "Synergy" the holographic computer that was built by Jerrica's aka JEM's father to be "the ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer" and that allowed JEM and the Holograms to instantly transform into their musical alter egos. Then there's the fact that the iconic star earrings that allowed her to create said illusions weren't even in the film. Instead we got what appeared to be a crappy Justin Bieber biopic/"Hannah Montana" Lifetime Channel teen movie of the week. After experiencing that horrendous and blasphemy of a trailer I, being the passionate individual that I am, instantly boycotted the film and added additional noise to the overwhelming negative response that it received from JEM's legion of hardcore fans. As "silly" as it sounds JEM really does have a huge hardcore fanbase. What can I say but some people like the METS while others (the cooler ones) prefer JEM. Well...last night a good friend of mine gifted me passes to the special exclusive advance screening of the film. Without saying much, The film ended up being a heartfelt, campy, funny, well acted and fun movie. Thankfully the actors all performed well and faithfully portrayed the iconic characters fantastically. The BAD ASS Juliette Lewis stole the movie as the villain. Clearly the majority of the movie's budget went to her salary because the movie was painfully LOW budget. The new songs were catchy and well performed. The costumes were modern BUT played homage to the iconic '80's glam rock style from the original series. The makers of the film beautifully played homage by adding so many easter eggs and references to the cartoon series which will hopefully please the fans. Unfortunately they changed a lot of elements from the original show which is the typical Hollywood nonsense in order to make it more realistic and fresh and modern for today's audience. Yes...I would have loved for it to be exactly like the cartoon series but the changes made sense for the film that they created. THERE IS A "SYNERGY" but not THE "Synergy" that we have come to know. There's also the iconic star earrings. The film had a more realistic take on JEM and the Holograms but it still afforded to include the fantasy that made the original cartoon series so magical. Again keep in mind they did as much as they could because the movie clearly had a low budget. The movie is a celebration of individuality which I felt kept with the JEM theme and was a nice touch for today's youth and for the tween demographic that the film aims for yet kept it entertaining enough for adults and hardcore fans. My gripes were that the film didn't include the original songs from the show, it didn't feature enough musical moments from the band like the original series, the movie by the second half felt incredibly rushed, super cheesy and the extras from the movie were clearly locals from the area where they shot the film because they were all horrible actors BUT all that flew out the window when the movie ended and we were left with a... brace yourself... a "MARVEL CINEMATIC" style of a secret ending. Yes! You heard me right. It was as unexpected AND as exciting as the endings that we have come to appreciate from today's high budget Marvel films. I won't spoil it with details but trust me when I say that it literally left the audience, especially the hardcore fans, hollering and cheering at the screen. I kid you not. I hope that this movie makes enough money so that a sequel is produced.

So there you have it... as much of a critic and cynic that I am... I am responsible enough to publicly eat my words from the past and admit that this film totally shut me up, put me in my place and left this hardcore 80's/JEM buff pleasantly surprised and happy. A sequel would definitely save this franchise. Hopefully the movie will have a strong word of mouth enough to be a success and allow a sequel. The movie is FAR from perfect but it isn't nearly as bad as the shit show that was "Josie and the Pussycats" movie. I highly recommend it especially for any parent and '80's kid. Trust me... I am as shocked to have enjoyed this film as it is for you to probably read this review. I really wanted to hate it but I was left satisfied and filled with my wonderful childhood nostalgia.