https://www.youtube.com/embed/dWENiXRJ7ps
If you spent the last trailer for Jem and the Holograms wondering "Where on Earth is Synergy?" then this new clip should make you feel better—kind of. Or maybe not at all. Instead of being a hologram-projecting computer intended for use as the "ultimate audio-visual entertainment synthesizer," Synergy in the new movie appears to be a hologram-projecting adorable robot that shows Jem home videos from her youth and beeps at her like a cute android chimp. That's almost like an ultra-advanced computer system working in conjunction with a pair of micro-projector equipped earrings to cast disguises over Jem's body, but significantly less badass. It's feeling less and less clear who this movie is intended for, besides maybe just kids who like Disney channel original movies. And that's totally fine! Those people need movies, too! But why call it Jem? The animated Jerrica Benton ran a record label and a home for young girls and was at constant odds with her nemesis Eric Raymond to keep control of her company, because she was a Boss. This Jerrica is a young girl and works for Erica Raymond (now a lady, played by Juliette Lewis) and just seems set to deal with a lot of teen angst confusion. Again, that's fine, but is it Jem?
There are close-ups of YouTube views and mentions of Twitter here that suggest the screenwriters have no idea what Twitter is or how people use it. Like, we almost wonder if someone scrawled the word "Millennials" onto a storyboard and decided that was their guiding principle. The girls talk about being "Internet famous" and probably take Snapchats of everything. In the best-case scenario this will be an entertaining romp with wildly catchy original pop songs and Juliette Lewis being an incredible bitch villain. Great! But if you’ve been waiting for the old-school Jem and the Holograms to come to life, this movie isn't going to fill the void.
Pause at: 1:13 and 1:24 for... Synergy. Earring touch at 2:20, but what is it even for?!
Song: One Direction, "Story of My Life"
Essential Quote: "Who is Jem? We're getting reports that's the number one trending topic on Twitter."—newscaster guy
