In an early scene in “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” teen idols Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas are ambushed by a herd of squealing girls who surround their car and then pursue them through city streets.
According to the movie, the famously gracious trio does not take its luck for granted. In contrast with fellow Disney phenom Miley Cyrus' “Best of Both Worlds Concert” (which featured the Jonases), “Jonas Brothers” does not strive to prove its subjects' authenticity as artists and people. There are no heartfelt testimonials from their stage parents, no accounts of how their punchy hit songs reflect real-life experience.
There is ample behind-the-scenes footage, but the only folks we really meet, aside from an amusing group of impersonators — "The Jonas Brothers are living the dream. But the question remains: how well will “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience” do in theaters this weekend?
Of course, the film comes out a little over a year after “Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert” Tour opened to a staggering $31 million in only 683 theaters. And “Jonas Brothers” is bowing in almost twice as many 3-D venues. But “Jonas” lacks the immediacy factor that “Hannah” had: her real-life concert tour had sold out in record times with desperate parents willing to mortgage their homes on $2,000 tickets to get their sweet, young things into their idol's stage show. Plus, Disney added to the frenzy by promising an exclusive one-week show, which they promptly extended for two more months once they got wind of its success. The box office has been going crazy since the beginning of the year.
When not performing, the Jonases come across as either goofily blasé or still stunned by their good fortune, a mix that can seem incongruous and at times disingenuous. Surveying a mobbed Times Square on the eve of their album release, they're as giddy as their fans; but when Joe is caught taking his shirt off in their dressing room, he faces the camera with the practiced mock disapproval of a veteran star.
Joe, 19, threatens to overshadow the younger, more boyish Nick throughout the movie. On stage, the middle Jonas struts and swaggers like a Mick Jagger impersonator and glowers like a student auditioning for Hamlet. When ex-flame Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato have guest turns, he's the most aggressive flirt.
The greatest sense of danger or tension in this film derives from the digital 3-D technology, which provides closer, more lovingly detailed views than the most expensive seats — and makes it appear as if objects from sunglasses to a police baton are lunging out at you.