If you go into this movie expecting anything other than crude comedy, you should not go see this movie. But this is not a bad thing. If you are at all familiar with, and like, the music of The Lonely Island, you will absolutely enjoy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Which is pretty much The Lonely Island’s take on a Scary Movie, only focused solely on Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never.
Popstar is filmed in documentary style following Conner (Andy Samberg) , aka Conner4Real, as he is getting to release his second solo album after splitting from an influential hip-hop group, Style Boyz. Conner is the complete exaggeration of the real life Bieber, and the film follows his antics as he prepares for the big day and beyond.
In addition to Jorma Taccone and Akiva Shafer, the rest of The Lonely Island, there is a slew of familiar faces and cameos, including, but not limited to, Imogen Poots; Bill Hader; Maya Rudolph; Sarah Silverman; Tim Meadows; Pink; Usher; Nas; Joan Cusack; Adam Levine; and Will Arnett. There are so many more, also, but I would be remiss to give them away.
Ultimately it comes down to this: as I said before, if you are fan of The Lonely Island, you will enjoy this film. I honestly kind of walked out of the theater thinking that the film basically serves as a vehicle for a new Lonely Island album as there all the songs performed in the movie are original and new. But, again, that’s not a bad thing. It, at times, goes a little overboard, but it quickly reels you back in the next moment. I suppose you could say there is humor for all tastes. Well… most tastes anyway.
It’s not going to win any awards. Let’s just get that on the table, but it is a film that will have you laughing most of the way through. There was definitely big audience reaction during my screening of the film. I will most definitely be picking up the soundtrack and the film upon home release.
3.5 / 5
