Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping – Film Review

The guys from Lonely Island, best known for their hilarious SNL digital shorts where they typically team up with famous singers or actors and make faux music videos, were finally handed the keys to make a full-length feature film. Naturally they took their usual style and spin on music and created a mockumentary about a Justin Bieber-esque character. In the film Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, we see the rise and fall of the legendary rapper and pop star Conner 4 Real (Andy Samberg). The film is treated like a documentary, there are pauses where they ask to turn the camera off and subtitles for when the subjects are talking too low for the mic to catch.

Conner 4 Real was once a member of the notorious Style Boyz, think the Beastie Boys mixed with the Backstreet Boys, he and his childhood friends Owen (Jorma Taccone) and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) started the group out of their backyard and became mega stars. Their most popular album and song was the Donkey Roll, a song that had a dance to go with it. While the backstory is played, they show home videos from when the guys were young and interject them with interviews from notorious artists such as Nas, 50 Cent, Pharrell Williams, and Usher, talking about how the Style Boyz touched their lives and inspired their music.

Conner 4 Real leaves the Style Boyz to become a solo artist, in the process disowning Lawrence and hiring Owen to be his backup DJ. Owen becomes another one of his people whom he bosses around. Conner is now a huge star and does the craziest of concerts, with multiple set changes, a Daft punk like helmet for Owen to wear on stage, and multiple holograms of Adam Levine. The film follows the release of his newest album, Connquest, containing ludicrous lyrics and horrible beats. Conner, like many stars of today is followed by minions of “yes” men, basically an entourage of people who just tell him how great he is all the time, so he can’t see how crappy his music has really turned out.

All Owen wants is for Conner to realize how terrible his music is so that the Style Boyz can get back together. However, Lawrence is on a farm doing random things like whittling wood and hanging out with goats, and doesn’t want anything to do with Conner. Conner’s manager (Tim Meadows) also tries to steer him back but he just won’t listen. What ensues from here is a journey in which Conner has to realize who he is and how to reconnect back with his passion for music.

The movie is really funny, I found myself laughing nonstop at many of the ridiculous moments. I could see this film becoming a staple for college kids to watch. There’s not much substance to the film, it’s a movie about a ridiculous Vanilla Ice slash Justin Bieber type character. I can’t pinpoint why but I left feeling like something was missing. The film served its purpose in being hysterical, but it also felt like an SNL sketch gone too long.

Samberg and Taccone were hilarious and did a great job at creating many funny sarcastic scenes. Meadows always delivers in his usual cynical and ironic tone. The cameos in this film worked because they only made the material even more absurd. Especially Will Arnett who plays a character like Harvey Levin from TMZ, sipping tons of water and laughing at celebrities like they do on the show.

The film is a great one to watch if you are in the mood to just sit back and laugh. If you are looking for something with more substance and an edge, this is not for you. Overall, the Lonely Island men did a great job of making me laugh nonstop and if you are a fan of their digital shorts, then you will definitely enjoy this flick.

Starring: Andy Samberg,  Jorma Taccone,  Akiva Schaffer, Sarah Silverman,Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack

Directed by: Akiva Schaffer,  Jorma Taccone

Written by: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone

MPAA rating: R

Running time: 87 minutes

Rating: 3/5