Featured TV on DVD Review - Jonas: I Heart Jonas
January 24, 2010
Jonas: I Heart Jonas - Buy from Amazon
The Jonas Brothers are both a family and a band that has become a major success among its target audience. Of course, that target audience is tween girls and since I am neither a tween nor a girl, I'm a little mystified at their appeal. Their TV show is popular enough to have a special DVD release. Normally there are only four episodes on these single-disc DVDs released by Disney, but this one has seven, so right away the price-per-minute is better than most. But will the episodes themselves be worth it?
The only extra on the DVD is an 11-minute practical joke the three pull on Jordin Sparks, who was touring with The Jonas Brothers at the time. However, the DVD also comes with three magnets, one for each of the brothers.
I think the creators of JONAS think that merely having Kevin, Joe, and Nick in their show will be enough to draw in the target demographic. Perhaps they are right, but as a critic I expect more, even for kids shows. I Heart Jonas is better value than their first DVD release and fans who liked that one will want to pick up this one, but there's little crossover value here.
- Submitted by: C.S.Strowbridge
I am totally disinterested in the "will they, won't they" storyline between Joe and Stella, mainly because Joe has about as much screen presence as a sock drawer. Neither of his brothers are that much better; Kevin is the better actor while Nick tends to fade into the background too much, but at least the writers are not constantly treating them as leading man material. Since this relationship is the focus of pretty much every episode on this DVD, it's quite a slog to get through. At least Chelsea Staub is a better actress than they are, even Nicole Anderson has a lot more screen presence than the trio (although I would like to see more growth in her character). There are some funny jokes here and there, and usually the B-story is somewhat interesting, but overall Jonas never rises above average for its target demographic.
After taking Stella for granted, Kevin (or is it Joe... let me check... it's Joe) becomes jealous when Stella starts dating the captain of football team at high school, Van Dyke. He ruins the clothing for their important trip to England so she has to end her date early and rush over right away. Because of that, she enlists the help of his two brothers to get revenge.
Stella wants Joe to take her to a fashion show the brothers have been invited to, but when she mentions they are going as a couple, he freaks out and cancels with some lame excuse. Then when he tries to make it up to her, he comes down with a cold and might have to cancel again.
The three brothers decide to audition for the lead roles in the school's production of The Three Musketeers; however, Joe backs out because he doesn't want to embarrass himself on stage. He immediately regrets this decision when Stella is cast as the romantic lead and his rival, Van Dyke, takes his place.
Best line of the episode, and the DVD, was Joe saying, "Guys, but we're not actors." Yeah, no kidding.
In order to celebrate their 15th "Friendaversary", Joe enlists the aid of super-fan / crazy stalker Macy to throw a party for Stella. However, with the two sneaking around and spending so much time together, Stella thinks they are dating.
Sara Paxton guest stars as Fiona Skye, an up-and-coming actress. She's a devious one and she uses a couple of staged paparazzi pictures to get a rumor going that she and Joe are an item in order to advance her career. This drives Joe nuts, but it drives Stella nuts even more. Could it be she's the jealous one this time?
The brothers forget Stella's birthday... wait a minute... Joe remembers their "Friendaversary" but forgets her birthday? That doesn't make sense. Then again, most of this show doesn't make much sense. The guys try to make it up to her the next day, but they have an interview scheduled with an important music critic that day.
After Van Dyke invites Stella to a new restaurant, El Meat (they will bacon wrap anything) Joe becomes insanely jealous, again, and decides to crash their date. The Verdict
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