As anyone who follows our blog for long enough knows, each of our writers tends to establish their own niche in terms of genres we cover. For example, I tend to write about most of the science fiction releases we cover. In contrast, I rarely cover comedies. My taste in comedy tends to be a bit outside the mainstream, so most of the comedies that come out each year simply don’t appeal much to me. However, I do love satire and parodies, so when I found out that The Lonely Island- the musical geniuses behind such classics as “I’m on a Boat”, “Jack Sparrow”, and “I Just Had Sex”, were making a feature film, I knew that I would have to cover the release. Fortunately, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is everything you expect a movie made by The Lonely Island should be.
Popstar is the mockumentary story of pop musical sensation Connor4Real (Andy Samberg), a former member of the boyband group Style Boyz. After the smash success of his first solo album, his sophomore release –ConnQuest- is the most-anticipated music release of the decade. Unfortunately, Connor’s success has gone to his head, and he has lost touch with those around, particularly his manager (Tim Meadows), his publicist (Sarah Silverman), and his DJ Owen (Jorma Taccone). Unfortunately, this has led to a decrease in the quality of his music, and sales of ConnQuest are less than impressive. To keep the public’s attention, Connor and his entourage engage in a series of increasingly-desperate gimmicks, including releasing the album through home appliances such as dishwashers, recruiting the incredibly aggressive rapper Hunter the Hungry (Chris Reed) as an opening act, and a public proposal to his girlfriend Ashley (Imogen Poots) which goes horribly wrong. But it quickly becomes apparent that unless Connor can heal the rifts between himself, Owen, and the third member of Style Boyz –Lawrence- (Akiva Schaffer), Connor’s music career might be over for good.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a mockumentary of the music industry in the same vein as This is Spinal Tap, specifically ripping on recent films such as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. And, so long as you’re familiar with The Lonely Island, you know exactly what this movie is going to be like. It’s bizarre, it’s crass, it’s very explicit, and it frequently takes refuge in its own audacity. This especially includes the new original songs they wrote for the movie. Some of the highlights include “Equal Rights (I’m Not Gay)”, “Ibitha” (a whole song making fun of the Spanish lisp), and “Finest Girl” (which is about fucking a girl “Like we fucked Bin Laden”). You can tell just from the last sentence whether you’ll find this movie funny or offensive (hopefully both).
In addition to the (very funny) original music, Popstar is also a clever satire of the modern music industry. Andy Samberg as Connor4Real personifies the vain, vapid, selfish, modern popstar- channeling everyone from Justin Bieber (most obviously), to One Direction and Miley Cyrus. The movie mercilessly rips on artists, record labels, and even the fans themselves. What’s even funnier is the fact that there are a huge number of major music celebrities who appear as themselves in the movie. This includes, but is not limited to: Simon Cowell, Seal, DJ Khaled, Questlove, Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, Pink, a hologram of Adam Levine, and even mother-friggin’ RINGO STARR!! I guess this shouldn’t surprise me considering the huge number of famous musicians who have collaborated with them over the years, but it still entertains me how many appear in this film.
So, do you like The Lonely Island, mockumentaries, comedic music, or really offensive comedies? If you answered yes to any of the previous points, then go see Popstar because you will find it really funny. If you answered no to all of them, than this film isn’t for you. It’s pretty simple, but its everything I could ever ask for in a feature-length Lonely Island movie.
Grade: B
Popstar is the mockumentary story of pop musical sensation Connor4Real (Andy Samberg), a former member of the boyband group Style Boyz. After the smash success of his first solo album, his sophomore release –ConnQuest- is the most-anticipated music release of the decade. Unfortunately, Connor’s success has gone to his head, and he has lost touch with those around, particularly his manager (Tim Meadows), his publicist (Sarah Silverman), and his DJ Owen (Jorma Taccone). Unfortunately, this has led to a decrease in the quality of his music, and sales of ConnQuest are less than impressive. To keep the public’s attention, Connor and his entourage engage in a series of increasingly-desperate gimmicks, including releasing the album through home appliances such as dishwashers, recruiting the incredibly aggressive rapper Hunter the Hungry (Chris Reed) as an opening act, and a public proposal to his girlfriend Ashley (Imogen Poots) which goes horribly wrong. But it quickly becomes apparent that unless Connor can heal the rifts between himself, Owen, and the third member of Style Boyz –Lawrence- (Akiva Schaffer), Connor’s music career might be over for good.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a mockumentary of the music industry in the same vein as This is Spinal Tap, specifically ripping on recent films such as Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. And, so long as you’re familiar with The Lonely Island, you know exactly what this movie is going to be like. It’s bizarre, it’s crass, it’s very explicit, and it frequently takes refuge in its own audacity. This especially includes the new original songs they wrote for the movie. Some of the highlights include “Equal Rights (I’m Not Gay)”, “Ibitha” (a whole song making fun of the Spanish lisp), and “Finest Girl” (which is about fucking a girl “Like we fucked Bin Laden”). You can tell just from the last sentence whether you’ll find this movie funny or offensive (hopefully both).
In addition to the (very funny) original music, Popstar is also a clever satire of the modern music industry. Andy Samberg as Connor4Real personifies the vain, vapid, selfish, modern popstar- channeling everyone from Justin Bieber (most obviously), to One Direction and Miley Cyrus. The movie mercilessly rips on artists, record labels, and even the fans themselves. What’s even funnier is the fact that there are a huge number of major music celebrities who appear as themselves in the movie. This includes, but is not limited to: Simon Cowell, Seal, DJ Khaled, Questlove, Carrie Underwood, Mariah Carey, Pink, a hologram of Adam Levine, and even mother-friggin’ RINGO STARR!! I guess this shouldn’t surprise me considering the huge number of famous musicians who have collaborated with them over the years, but it still entertains me how many appear in this film.
So, do you like The Lonely Island, mockumentaries, comedic music, or really offensive comedies? If you answered yes to any of the previous points, then go see Popstar because you will find it really funny. If you answered no to all of them, than this film isn’t for you. It’s pretty simple, but its everything I could ever ask for in a feature-length Lonely Island movie.
Grade: B
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