Every dream has to start somewhere, and leave it to the director of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never to bring the world the story of Jerrica Benton and her rise to the top of the pops. Don't take our word for it, though, as you can feel free to watch the trailer for Jem And The Holograms yourself in the video below.
Universal Pictures Austraila released this first look at Jon M. Chu's next directorial foray into taking 80's nostalgia and wowing today's generation with something from their siblings/parent's closets. The results are a mixed bag, but overall this looks like it's going to be a fun romp for the teen audience it's aiming for. Jem And The Holograms tells the story of young Jerrica and her accidental stumble into super stardom, all thanks to one of her sisters uploading one of her songs on YouTube. Of course, it isn't long before the big time is a-calling for her, and the pressures of making it big versus keeping it real make themselves known. Will the newly minted Jem stay with the band that made her, or will she throw it all way for a solo career?
On one hand, Jem And The Holograms is definitely a product of its time. Gone are the gimmicks of the 80's cartoon, and instead the film is deciding to tell the classically honed story of what a person will do once fame becomes a big part of their lives. It also helps that Aubrey Peeples is in her own right a pretty famous singer/actor combo, thanks to her time on ABC's breakout hit Nashville. Also, one can't help but smile at Juliette Lewis being the villain of the piece and Molly Ringwald being the mother of the household, as Chu clearly does his homework when it comes to casting his films with the right balance of perfect fits that bring back all the right nostalgic feelings.
Of course, there's the one big factor the film has going against it, and it's something that even both directors in the G.I. Joe franchise had to face down: the source material is basically given up for dead, in exchange for something audiences of today can relate to. If you showed this trailer to a fan of Jem And The Holograms, you'd probably hear cries about how it's turned Jem into a teen sensation and robbed her of her record executive status and/or her neat technology – which involved actual holograms, and an A.I. assistant named Synergy. Besides a mention of the latter that could pan out into a clever nod to the original series, the original Jem – Britta Phillips herself – is on the cast list in an unnamed capacity. Whether it's a simple cameo, or a full blown supporting role, is yet to be seen.
Jem And The Holograms is facing all of the usual problems any adaptation of its stature would face, so this trailer is really business as usual. The best thing about the first look at the latest Jon M. Chu flick is that it looks like he's really called upon the chops that he displayed in Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and two Step Up installments to make this a pop-fueled spectacle. Whether or not you're up for that depends on how ready you are to get truly outrageous, and you'll have plenty of time to figure that out as Jem And The Holograms is set to open on October 23rd.
