Similarities between the live-action and animated “Jem” pretty much begin and end with character names, but both revolve around talented young singer Jerrica Benton (played here by Aubrey Peeples), who becomes a pop superstar under the stage name Jem. And yet the film seems inexplicably embarrassed by its roots, instead serving up half-baked and self-consciously contemporary drama that no one in the sure-to-be minimal theatrical audience will remember quite so fondly some 30 years on. Chu, horror producer Jason Blum and Justin Bieber manager Scooter Braun exists only because of nostalgia for the animated source material. A campy cartoon encapsulating ‘80s excess transforms into an earnest live-action ode to the navel-gazing YouTube generation in “ Jem and the Holograms.” Considerably less fun than any paper-thin “Star Is Born” ripoff has any right to be, this low-budget collaboration between “Step Up” sequel director Jon M.
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