"Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" - Review

It Takes a Lonely Island To Make a Dope Movie

It is almost comical how similar the rise of The Lonely Island mirrors the rise of a certain individual named Justin Bieber. They both came from humble beginnings with a love for creation and performance. They started making content for YouTube and were eventually discovered by other famous people. That gave them the opportunities to build a fanbase and then suddenly explode into fame. The difference that I would note between the two though is that Bieber lost himself in that fame. Perhaps he became popular at too early of an age. The Lonely Island, consisting of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, came into their popularity a little later on in their lives and it shows in their careers. Over the 15 years they have been a group, they have never lost their particular and unique flavor of comedy music. The same inspired wit is there. The fame only brought them more resources and collaboration opportunities with other "famous people". Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the culmination of everything The Lonely Island is. Released simultaneously with an album of the same name, the film is stuffed with original music from the group and their trademark sketch comedy and it seems like every person they have ever met in the industry joined in for the fun. Unlike this years unfortunate Zoolander 2, Popstar never gets lost in its numerous cameos and pop culture references. Rather than the references and cameos themselves being the punchlines, they exist to supplement the biting satire that The Lonely Island have already crafted. That satire, born from The Lonely Island coming into fame and fortune as outsiders, is subversive and vicious. Because of this, Popstar is one of the best comedies of the year so far.

Popstar, a loose mockumentary parody of similar music documentaries like Justin Bieber's Never Say Never , centers on pop superstar Conner4Real (Andy Samberg) as he prepares to release his second solo album after his separation from his former boy band The Style Boyz. Expecting the same overwhelming success that his first album had, he is shocked to see it be poorly received by both critics and fans alike. Conner's overblown lifestyle starts to fall apart around him while he and his team try to recover and bring their fans back. And of course, shenanigans ensue.

The plot is perfectly serviceable enough to thread the various wacky situations and sketches together as a cohesive whole. This kind of plotting can often be messy and incoherent, but in this case it adds to the fast paced wacky rhythm it is already rocking to. The film's length is short and economic and the jokes come flying hard and fast. For the most part, they all work. This is a damn funny movie. I do not think there was a single scene where I did not laugh out loud at least once. Andy Samberg, as he has shown in numerous TV appearances and The Lonely Island's previous film effort Hot Rod, is an energetic and immensely likable screen presence. This film works because of the strength of his commitment to the material. In his review of Hot Rod, the late Roger Ebert actually praised Andy Samberg and predicted that he would have an exciting career ahead of him. If only he could see him now, because Ebert's prediction came true.

This is a hard film to review in the way that it is hard to find things to criticize. Comedies like this serve one purpose: be funny. Everything else is inconsequential. If a comedy is not funny, everything else about the film does not matter. If a comedy is hilarious, those things still do not matter too much. Any other positive attributes would be unnecessary, but welcome. Popstar is most definitely funny, but I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that there is actually some smart satire hidden underneath all the silly jokes and scenarios. It is seriously calling out the integrity of the entire music industry in the funniest of ways. It does not celebrate the excess that Conner4Real basks in. There is a clear moral compass in this film and it is rather refreshing. It also makes the already existing humor even funnier and edgier. The film does not leave anyone or anything in the industry unscathed. For example, there is a running joke about the casual racism in the writing of popular music that had me in stitches, but also in awe of how accurate it was.

But obviously, the biggest positive attribute this film adds to its humor is its soundtrack. The Lonely Island really outdid themselves here. It is incredibly impressive how the music is so funny while also sounding just as polished as any popular song on the radio. Many of the songs directly emulate other artists and genres and they are completely spot on. (There is a Macklemore-style track that is especially vicious.) The songs also feature many surprising collaborations and cameos and everyone involved does incredible work. I will not spoil who shows up in the film or on the album, but if you can think of anyone who just has to be in a Lonely Island film, that person is most likely in the film somewhere. 

If there was anything that kept this film from having a perfect score from me, it is the loose nature of the script that I mentioned before. It is really nitpicky at this point, but it is something I have to point out. The movie goes from scene to scene with only the simplest of a main story arc. Because of this, the tone and energy of film is relatively unchanged and consistent the whole way though. It is a great tone, but there is not a great deal of variety. This is a small complaint and in no way a deal breaker, but it is evident. Hot Rod does a better job of having peaks and valleys in its script so it always keeps you on your toes. However, I would say that Popstar is a funnier film. In the end, that is all that matters. I cannot imagine anyone not liking this movie. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a refreshing and hilariously good time at the movies. Bring all your friends and laugh your ass off. 

Grade: A-.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is now playing in theaters everywhere.