We know, it’s truly outrageous that we really haven’t covered the upcoming adaptation of “Jem And The Holograms.” An American animated television series that ran in the mid ‘80s starting in 1985, the cartoon followed music company owner Jerrica Benton, her singer alter-ego Jem, her band the Holograms, and their adventures. The show was to girls what the animated 1980s “G.I. Joe” and “Transformers” series were to boys (and frankly this writer watched all three, though Jem not that long after the first year).
But other than the fact that Jon M. Chu is directing and that it means the third “G.I. Joe” movie is either going to wait or go to another filmmaker, the film version of “Jem And The Holograms” hasn’t been that exciting beyond the fact it will eventually exist. Plus the cast is mostly full of relative unknowns like Aubrey Peeples, Ryan Guzman, Stefanie Scott, Hayley Kiyoko, Aurora Perrineau and Nathan Moore.
Today ‘Jem’ got slightly more… I dunno if ‘exciting’ is the world, but filled with actors whose names you’ll recognize. THR says ‘80s teen icon Molly Ringwald will be part of it, but her role is unknown. The same applies for Juliette Lewis, also in an unknown role, according to Deadline. But Lewis has her own band, Juliette and the Licks, so presumably she’ll be putting her Joan Jett-esque pipes to good use.
What to expect with this series? Well, presumably to connect with the wide audience of underserved teenage girls in the same way Floria Sigismondi‘s teen-rock movie “The Runaways” had hoped to do so, but mostly failed (even with Kristen Stewart in it to boot). But as “Josie and the Pussycats” also proved in 2001, this is a genre that’s not only hard to nail, but one that’s difficult to engage audiences with. But, Universal Pictures had great fortune with “Pitch Perfect,” and while not quite the same thing (musical comedy, not musical drama), they’re probably thinking, where there’s a will there’s a way.