During my downtime that comes with the on-campus semester being cut short, I watched the Jonas Brothers’ documentary Chasing Happiness. The documentary came out in 2019 and is available on Amazon Prime Video. I chose to watch this because the Jonas Brothers are on my list of people I want to see in concert one day (a complete list coming soon). 

After breaking up, seemingly for good, in 2013, the Jonas Brothers reunited as a band, released a new album, and went on a world tour in 2019. This documentary follows the three brothers, Nick, Joe, and Kevin, as they discuss how they got their start, what their early days of success were like, and where things went wrong along the way. 

The documentary starts with the brothers reuniting in Australia in 2018. They had not been alone just the three of them for several years. There is definitely some tension in these moments because they are discussing their past, the things that went unspoken between them, and how they truly felt about one another. The film really reiterates the fact that they are family first and a band second. It flips back and forth between their meeting in 2018 and footage from the past. 

I felt very nostalgic watching this documentary because I grew up watching and listening to the Jonas Brothers. The film walks the audience through the start of their career with Sony, their time with Disney, their first “break-up,” their solo careers and lives, their first (unsuccessful) reunion, their second break-up, and their current (successful) reunion. I found it very interesting because I was more of a casual fan of the Jonas Brothers in the past and I learned a lot of new things about them and their career.

They talked about their experience touring and how the first time they saw a crowd for them was at a Texas state fair and it was completely unexpected. The Jonas Brothers went from playing at school assemblies and mall food courts to selling out 3 nights at Madison Square Garden when Nick, Joe, and Kevin were respectively only 16, 19, and 21 years old. 

This documentary’s main focus is not concerts and touring, but it gives viewers a behind the scenes look at what this kind of career looks like from the artists’ view and the toll it can take on them. I also liked this because I’m a fan of the Jonas Brothers and their music. I am a strong supporter of boybands and pop music and will defend them with all my heart. You can read more about that in one of my past reviews I did. The Jonas Brothers fall into the category of artists that had made a household name of themselves, but their music was not always taken seriously. This documentary shows a lot about the brothers as humans and shows their true emotions. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching this and recommend it if you, like me, grew up with the Jonas Brothers. I listened to their music when I was younger and I was excited last year when I learned they were getting their band back together. You can listen to their most recent album Happiness Begins on Spotify here.