Upon knowing that her aunt suffers from a financial problems that forced her to buy her house, Jerrica, a young beautiful talented girl who admires singing, makes a video in which she sings a sad song, the thing that turns upside down her life and leads her to be a super star, as her video has millions views on a day.
This live action dud is basically what you imagine a bargain-basement Star is Born would be like if it was directed by the chap who did a Step Up sequel, a horror producer and Justin Bieber's manager.
Overall Jem and the Holograms is a confused mess that will leave previous fans of the show isolated by its insistence on being 'hip' and 'with it', while newer audiences are unlikely to appreciate its premise in a post-Hannah Montana world.
Hardcore fans won't find much of the Jem they loved under the movie's achingly hip millennial trappings, while young newcomers will be left wondering what a robot has to do with a rock band.
One forgets tweens have choir practice and like to unabashedly break out into song. They think this is normal. It's very cute. Bad for dads; I give 'Jem' three tween stars.
What it lacks in humor it makes up for in sheer weirdness -- it's a master class in How Did This Get Made? It feels focus-grouped to within an inch of its life, but it's so strange that it's impossible to imagine what process led us here.
Not being part of the generation that watched the show, I can't vouch for its merits. But it's safe to say that it must be miles ahead of this wan, bloated screen version which forgoes the original's sci-fi and thriller aspects.
