MOVIE OF THE WEEK (6/3/16): POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING
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| "Yes, I stole these pants from the unfinished live action Monsters Inc. movie – what of it?!" Conner4Real (Andy Samberg) performs to his adoring fans in a scene from POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING. Credit: Glen Wilson © 2016 Universal Studios. All rights reserved. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Chris Redd, Imogen Poots And a bunch of cameos you may or may not expect ...
WRITER(S): The Lonely Island a.k.a. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
DIRECTOR(S): Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
THE STORY AS BEST WE KNOW IT: Written, directed and starring the comedy rap/R&B trio that had its breakthough on Saturday Night Live as The Lonely Island, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping stars Andy Samberg as Conner4Real, a pop star music sensation. Growing up, Conner a.k.a. Kid Conner was best friends with Lawrence a.k.a. Kid Brain (Avika Schaffer) and Owen a.k.a. Kid Contact (Jorma Taccone), the duo with whom he formed the rap trio known as the Style Boyz. Once they got signed to a major record label, the trio blew up thanks to hit songs like "Donkey Roll."
But, to all those who he would consider part of his "Contourage" fan base, it was clear that Conner was true star of the group, leading to his debut album "Thiller, Also," a 4 million record selling smash. Sure, Lawrence may be mad at him for never giving him credit for any of the Style Boyz success and moved to Colorado to become a lonely farmer, but Owen has settled in nicely as Conner's DJ, willing to do whatever he can to help his best friend be a star and enjoy a part of the success.
Then, Conner drops his second album, CONNquest – and it bricks. HARD.
Now faced with a conscious of both crisis and concert ticket sales, Conner and his team – which includes Owen, his manager Hank (Tim Meadows) and publicist Paula (Sarah Silverman) – try to figure out ways to stop his fall from grace, only to see one disaster seemingly follow the next. But if there's one thing Conner knows – as every true pop star knows – it's that you never stop never stopping ...
But, to all those who he would consider part of his "Contourage" fan base, it was clear that Conner was true star of the group, leading to his debut album "Thiller, Also," a 4 million record selling smash. Sure, Lawrence may be mad at him for never giving him credit for any of the Style Boyz success and moved to Colorado to become a lonely farmer, but Owen has settled in nicely as Conner's DJ, willing to do whatever he can to help his best friend be a star and enjoy a part of the success.
Then, Conner drops his second album, CONNquest – and it bricks. HARD.
Now faced with a conscious of both crisis and concert ticket sales, Conner and his team – which includes Owen, his manager Hank (Tim Meadows) and publicist Paula (Sarah Silverman) – try to figure out ways to stop his fall from grace, only to see one disaster seemingly follow the next. But if there's one thing Conner knows – as every true pop star knows – it's that you never stop never stopping ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS MOVIE THE MOST? Longstanding Lonely Island fans; people who are current with today's music and pop culture trends and what is being both paid tribute to and lampooned viciously here; people who like grade school, lunchroom table jokes done in excess
WHO WILL HATE THIS MOVIE THE MOST? People who are unfamiliar with and/or hate pretty much everything mentioned in the previous section.
SO IS IT GOOD, GREAT, JUST ALL RIGHT OR DOWNRIGHT AWFUL? If you are familiar with the docu-style films artists like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry have released in recent years, the world that seemingly exists in its own TMZ bubble and/or the actions of artists like Justin Bieber and other like him, you will find Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping to be a hilarious send up of it all with some of the craziest songs and "I didn't see that coming!" raw material in years.
If not, you're probably not gonna like it. At all. But that doesn't mean you're right as much as it does you are simply not the audience for this movie. Because what it does well, it really does well to the point you won't be able to help but truly, as this generation of musicians and its fans would say, LOL from all the OMG and WTF moments throughout its 87 minute running time.
If you are familiar with The Lonely Island from their not safe for work ditties like this or this or this or even this, you likely already know what to expect what you're going to get in Popstar: A collection of crazy songs that show you just how crazy certain elements of the modern world are, especially when they are set to music with clever lyrical skill, pitch and cadence and focus as if they were dead serious (which in turn makes them hilarious). What you might not fully appreciate until you see the movie, however, is how they perfectly and expertly capture the essence of not only how many actual pop stars today come off in interviews, how they fall victim to so many silly scandals and bad promo ideas and the stories that permeated just about every Behind the Music VH1 ever aired – or will.
Whereas Samberg and his Lonely Island crew nail all the lack of self awareness many pop stars have before showing their sensitive-yet-still-unaware sides, the rest of the film's cast does a great job at doing the same in this mockumentary. Littered with celebrity cameo appearances, everything from the insatiable for headlines and unaware of their own lunacy nature of TMZ to artists talking about how inspired they get by others is on display in Popstar, all to hilarious effect. Be it Conner's tabloid relationship with Ashley Wednesday (Imogen Poots), his friendship/rivalry with budding rap star Hunter the Hungry (played brilliantly by stand-up comedian Chris Redd channeling what seems to be his inner Odd Future/Tyler the Creator – link VERY NSFW and must be watched till the end to get the full effect of what he is doing/lampooning/paying homage to) or his rocky relationship with his team, Popstar leaves no pop music stone unturned.
If not, you're probably not gonna like it. At all. But that doesn't mean you're right as much as it does you are simply not the audience for this movie. Because what it does well, it really does well to the point you won't be able to help but truly, as this generation of musicians and its fans would say, LOL from all the OMG and WTF moments throughout its 87 minute running time.
If you are familiar with The Lonely Island from their not safe for work ditties like this or this or this or even this, you likely already know what to expect what you're going to get in Popstar: A collection of crazy songs that show you just how crazy certain elements of the modern world are, especially when they are set to music with clever lyrical skill, pitch and cadence and focus as if they were dead serious (which in turn makes them hilarious). What you might not fully appreciate until you see the movie, however, is how they perfectly and expertly capture the essence of not only how many actual pop stars today come off in interviews, how they fall victim to so many silly scandals and bad promo ideas and the stories that permeated just about every Behind the Music VH1 ever aired – or will.
Whereas Samberg and his Lonely Island crew nail all the lack of self awareness many pop stars have before showing their sensitive-yet-still-unaware sides, the rest of the film's cast does a great job at doing the same in this mockumentary. Littered with celebrity cameo appearances, everything from the insatiable for headlines and unaware of their own lunacy nature of TMZ to artists talking about how inspired they get by others is on display in Popstar, all to hilarious effect. Be it Conner's tabloid relationship with Ashley Wednesday (Imogen Poots), his friendship/rivalry with budding rap star Hunter the Hungry (played brilliantly by stand-up comedian Chris Redd channeling what seems to be his inner Odd Future/Tyler the Creator – link VERY NSFW and must be watched till the end to get the full effect of what he is doing/lampooning/paying homage to) or his rocky relationship with his team, Popstar leaves no pop music stone unturned.
Now, if you HATE most of modern pop music and cannot find the humor in it with all of its outrageous characters, explicit lyrics, social commentary and/or general silliness, you may have trouble finding the humor/genius in Popstar. For then, the film will just be a barrage of immature behavior, nudity, crazy sounding beats and commentary on social issues that you may mistakenly find insulting instead of lampooning just how uncomfortable we are talking about them.
But don't let that stop you from checking it out for yourself and seeing on which side of the equation you fall ...
RATING OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN:
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