Young stars created by the money-churning machine known as the Disney Channel better be well versed in singing, acting, and dancing or learn quickly if they want to last in the Mickey Mouse House. Miley Cyrus, Emily Osment, Mitchell Musso, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale, (amongst others) have all passed the test. It is surprising, however, that Cole and Dylan Sprouse haven’t produced their own musical album yet, but they were known well before working for Disney (see Adam Sandler’s Big Daddy).
Perhaps the biggest stars among the Disney crowd are The Jonas Brothers. Young girls love these three brothers about as much as they love Taylor Swift, just in different ways. The latest way the Jonas Brothers have to prove their worth is their own television series called Jonas. The creativity likely doesn’t get much better from there.
The series Jonas doesn’t try very hard to differentiate between what is real and what is fiction. Nick, Kevin, and Joe Jonas pretty much play themselves, or at least share the first names of the main characters on the show. Their last names are Lucas. Oh, and they are part of a musical group called Jonas. Like all international rock stars, the Lucas siblings attend a private school because their parents want them to have a somewhat normal childhood. Most of the other kids in school are used to their celebrity status.
That is except Macy Misa (Nicole Anderson) who is not only the president of the Jonas fan club, but can’t barely speak to them when they cross paths. Stella (Chelsea Staub) is Macy’s best friend, and has known the brothers all of her life. She is not only their fashion advisor, but is Joe’s best friend as well. In addition, their Father (John Ducey) is their manager and is always looking for the newest Jonas product for the boys to endorse, while their eight-year-old brother Frankie (Frankie Jonas) is always trying to find some way to be part of the band and get some attention of his own. Through all of this the brothers routinely perform local gigs for small crowds consisting of family and friends. At times, they even start to sing one of their songs in the middle of the story.
Any way you look at it, Jonas is not an original idea for a television series. It only starts with the fact that this show nearly duplicates the premise of Hannah Montana. But if you are over the age of 40, you probably more fondly remember shows such as The Monkees and The Partridge Family. If you are closer to the age of 30, you might remember Disney’s old Kids Incorporated show. All of those shows appear to be inspiration for Jonas. Each episode of the series focuses on a single topic, and then lots of jokes and some songs get tossed out to fill time. Some of the dialogue is clever, but most of the series is just campy fun for the target demographic.
The main problem with Jonas is that the Jonas Brothers can’t really act. Even the supporting cast isn’t as strong as in Hannah Montana. The series also makes the brothers look cool at almost all times. If the goal of this series it to provide a look behind-the-scenes of the lives of the Jonas Brothers, Jonas has failed.
Everything on this series feels staged as a result of their exposure through media outlets, et al. On the positive side, the production values have advanced and this series is shot more like the best comedies today like The Office. The camera antics are often overdone and can become quite distracting at times.
Jonas can be considered this generation’s Monkees or Kids Incorporated, etc. It’s too bad the Jonas Brothers don’t have the acting skills to match their music skills. Overall, this series just feels like a cheap way to make more money from the Jonas Brothers. While Miley Cyrus became a music superstar because of her Hannah Montana series, the Jonas Brothers really are just taking a step backwards by doing a show like this.
Episodes:
Episode 1 – Groovy Movies
After a ridiculous attempt at cooking results in the Lonases’ melting their family’s home movies they decide to reenact those memories and film them as a gift for their mom.
Episode 2 – Wrong Song
Nick falls hard for a girl at school named Penny (Bridgit Mendler). He writes her an original song, only to find her performing it in concert and dedicating it to another dude. Doesn’t she know he has diabetes? That’s just cold.
Episode 3 – Pizza Girl
The brothers are all crushing on the local pizza delivery girl (Schena Marie), an uncommonly attractive lady for her trade who is apparently open to a wide range of ages for potential boyfriends. This episode is sometimes referred to as “Slice of Life”.
Episode 4 – Band’s Best Friend
The Lonases’ boyhood friend (Nate Hartley) returns for a visit, alarming the now-famous brothers with his lameness. He doesn’t even wear tight jeans, vests, and skinny ties to class — what a loser.
Episode 5 – Chasing the Dream
Kevin is put in an awkward position when he agrees to let a fan record guest vocals on the next JONAS track before realizing that she can’t sing. If only it were possible to sell a lot of records despite subpar singing voices.
The video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer is great and on par with other Disney Channel sitcoms released on DVD today. No major problems at all.
The audio included is available in either English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround soun or English 2.0 Stereo sound. There are subtitles available in English and Spanish as well. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. No major problems here either.
Unaired Bonus Episodes –
These are two episodes that haven’t been shown on TV yet and they are called “Beauty and the Beast” and “Cold Shoulder.” In “Beauty and the Beast,” the band is asked to judge a beauty contest, a role that becomes more challenging when their good friend, Stella (Chelsea Staub), enters the competition. In “Cold Shoulder,” the president of JONAS’ Scandinavian fan club just happens to be in town, but when she and Kevin start dating it seems like he’s an even bigger fan of hers. Definitely must-watch for fans of the show.
“You Just Been Jo Bro’d!”: Suprising Chelsea Staub Featurette –
This runs 11 minutes and it’s a rip-off of the MTV show, Punk’d. The Jonas Brothers prank their co-star Chelsea Staub basically. Probably will be funny for those that love this show.
“Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go” Featurette –
Have no fear, you still get Cody and Dylan Sprouse (Suite Life‘s Zach & Cody) telling you what a Blu-ray DVD is, if you don’t already know, but I no longer count that as an extra. This is a new 1 minute featurette I am sure Disney will include on all their new DVDs this point further (see also Wizards on Deck With Hannah Montana DVD Review). It explains what a Disney Digital Copy is.
Jonas doesn’t really explore any new territory, but it’s not as annoying as some of Disney latest shows can be. So if you get stuck watching this show, you likely won’t go insane. So buy if you are a fan, if not stay away. That simple.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment presents Jonas – Volume 1. Created by Michael Curtis and Roger S.H. Schulman. Starring Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, Nick Jonas, Chelsea Staub, Nicole Anderson, and John Ducey. Running time: 113 minutes. Rated: NOT RATED. Released on DVD: September 22, 2009.
Available at Amazon.com.
