Beyond horror flicks, 3-D just found a new way to make girls scream. “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience” opened across the nation in select theaters and IMAX last Friday.
Using RealD technology with accompanying corrective lenses, the film utilizes the third dimension to make viewers feel like they are actually at the venue. Impressive camera work and even the occasional tossing of a guitar pick/hat/smoldering glance towards the viewer helps to achieve this atmosphere of realism. Shrieks and shrills abounded in the theater, with the delightful Star Cinema staff encouraging everyone to start singing along before the film had even begun.
The film can be roughly divided into musical sets and narrative portions. The musical numbers take place exclusively in one venue with songs like “That’s Just the Way We Roll” and “Pushing Me Away.” One previously unreleased song, “Love is on its Way,” was performed and shot as a music video in Central Park. The intertwined segments laid over this track are lovey-dovey snippets of couples doing cute things like sharing iPod earbuds and riding in carriages. A couple of guest appearances liven up the concert. Onstage, Demi Lovato joined the trio for a performance of “This is Me.” Towards the end of the concert the illustrious Taylor Swift and her fiddle-and-banjo-playing entourage also came out to play “Should’ve Said No.” The guest appearances complement the relatively small ensemble the brothers comprise.
The narrative clips give a break from the main set. The opening sets the brothers up as hardworking superstars, awoken before the crack of dawn by their bodyguard and occasional on stage accompaniment, Big Rob. They end up running late for a performance, and must exit the secure confines of their limousine to dash to the rooftop of a building where they are whisked off by helicopter to their true destination. Of course, they are chased the entire way by hordes of adoring fans, thereby likening the JoBros to the Beatles. However, shots of the fans destroying everything in their path and carving a swath of mayhem through New York may remind a viewer more of “The Day After Tomorrow” than “A Hard Day’s Night.” The rest of the non-musical clips document some of the boys’ notable public experiences in a detached, documentary style.
Right smack in the middle of the set, in between “Still in Love with You” and “Pushin’ Me Away,” the three brothers acquired large hoses to spray the sweaty crowd of mostly middle and early high school aged-girls down with a white, viscous fluid of ambiguous composition. The obvious entendre raises the question of what this act has to say about the promise ring-wearing, virtuous pop stars’ true desires.
Each brother has his own approach to the performance. Nick Jonas, playing guitar and drums, exudes the talent of the group. His main schtick is to be reserved and sensitive, and he is often capable of accomplishing this. However, seeing Nick’s stoic guitar playing among his exuberantly dancing, gymnast-like brothers makes him seem more like an emo robot by comparison.
In contrast, there is great pleasure for lovers of awkward moments in watching the all-too-forced performance of Kevin Jonas, also known as “K2” and “The Overbearing One,” as he makes funny faces or gestures at the camera just about every other song. The expression is predominantly a hurried and excited mock-up of a surprised smile. At the ripe age (in pop-star years) of 21 he faces some tough dilemmas in facing his future as a marginal, uncool member of the band, and his efforts to downplay this painfully obvious fact show through transparently whenever he does anything from checking his phone to playing his guitar.
Joe Jonas, the lead singer of the group, is the cool, smooth brother who can actually pull off a glittery, sequined, extra-small vest, reminding us that audiences should only see this movie if they actually like the Jonas Brothers. Yet judging by the lines of girls that surely wait across the country, it won’t be a problem.
2 1/2 stars out of 5.
