Soap Box Moment: Jonas Brothers

I'm tired of all of this backlash against my beloved brothers Jonas in regards to their admittedly self-indulgent 3D movie "tanking" at the box office this week. Even my bible, Billboard Magazine, didn't have kind words to say.

Let me quantify this. People are talking all this stuff, saying the group jumped the shark, are dwindling in popularity. Honestly, I think that is the older posse trying squander away the latest of teen pop sensations. That's taking it a bit far, in my opinion. Sure, it didn't sweep the Box Office like everyone "expected" it to. Yes, it bowed behind "Madea Goes to Jail" (and that's not exactly a selling point). People are too quick to glaze over the fact that the film is officially the 2nd most successful concert film of all time already and it hasn't even had official receipts pulled in yet for its first week, behind only Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana's "Best Of Both Worlds" film (which also features the boys in a smaller feature). Also, the film only premiered/is available at a select number of movie theatres, and isn't viable in every movie theatre around the nation. And since when is #2 a gripping failure?

It's strange to me because its the same people who cater to the group's mindboggling success that are so quick to admonish them. Yes, I'm a fan, and I'm 21 years old. I didn't go see the movie. I've seen them live twice (once with girlfriends, once with the little girl I babysit). I've thoroughly enjoy it because they do put on a good show. When you go to pop music shows, you go to be entertained. And Kevin, Nick and Joe definitely want to entertain you. I'll be the first one to tell you when they take a misstep -- I was among the first to sound the alarm with their duet with Stevie Wonder at the Grammy's -- but attempting to give their younger fans what they clamor for (seeing them perform live and what they do inbetween songs) is hardly a crime.

I will address the segement that everyone is talking about. There is apparently a part in the film where the camera follows the boys backstage into their quick change room and captures a few seconds of shirtless Jonas flesh before the boys tell the camera to leave. I do not feel this is gratitutous on their part, but gratitutous on the part of the people who produced the film, Disney and the damn cameramen themselves. Disney is one of the guiltiest people of seemingly harmless (although completely needless) seconds of naked male teen idols in their telefilms (Zac Efron in "High School Musical 2", Joe in "Camp Rock"...). It's nothing new. Get off your high horse. I agree that if the boys really didn't want the cameramen there like they are saying they would have had that scene edited out of the movie, but something tells me someone else encouraged the boys to leave it in, knowing the thirst it would feed for their pre-teen fans.

I don't particularly dig the whole 3D concept. I recently saw "Coraline" and felt the 3D just a bit too much at times. Watching a concert in 3D makes me dizzy just thinking about it. While that idea seemed like such a coup, I kind of think it hurt them...in my book. Even still, I can't really see this being as the sign that the Jonas Brothers are no longer Kings of the Tweens, mostly because there is nobody else there to take their place...unless you count Robert Pattinson.

What do you think?