K-SCORE: 85
Director: Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Writer: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer
Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Silverman, Joan Cusack, Chris Redd
Cameos: 50 Cent, Nas, RZA, Mariah Carey, Ringo Starr, Adam Levine, Simon Cowell, Michael Bolton, Big Boy, D.J. Khaled, Kevin Nealon, Mario Lopez, Will Arnett, Mike Birbiglia, Bill Hader, Danger Mouse, T.I., Pharrell Williams, Seal, Paul Scheer, Jimmy Fallon, Martin Sheen, Will Forte, Weird Al Yankovic, Snoop Dogg, Emma Stone, Justin Timberlake
Well, I think Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping definitively proves that Andy Samberg is the very best talent in the world when it comes to convincing celebrities to do bit comedic parts in his films. Look at that cameo list. I watched the whole thing - barely know what happened. I just kept saying things like, “Is that Emma Stone?” and “Did they really cast Justin Timberlake as the tour chef? Brilliant.”
This mockumentary is a hilarious scathing commentary on the pop music industry. Samberg is shameless in his satirization of the types of people that become popstars, marking them as vain, talentless, idiots, propped up by a legion of outrageous groupies and yes-men. The result is really funny most of the time, though it dips into the totally absurd too often to try to squeeze every last laugh out of your gut. Was it funny when Seal got attacked by wolves? Kind of, but I don’t necessarily think it was a smart move for the progressing narrative. On the other hand, some of the gags are so great, like the giant light-up helmet, that they made me not even care about the narrative that much.
And I will say this: there is one. Samberg’s character, Connor 4Real, develops over the course of the film in a way that is predictable but a bit satisfying. His manager and publicist reveal themselves to be a bit more complex than the shallow storyline would have you believe initially, and somehow the whole thing shakes out to be something of a celebration of the music industry in spite of its absurdity. So it’s an impressive film.
Where they really nailed it, though, is in the songs. I don’t know what the songs are actually titled, but I wrote this whole review listening to what should be called “Not Gay,” “Donkey Roll,” “Incredible Thoughts,” and the magnum opus “Fucked Bin Laden.” They’re perfect. Ultimately, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping gives us a lesson about pop music. It’s all in the catchy tune. The lyrics don’t matter really at all. So why are we getting the same sex-obsessed relationship-themed songs again and again. Just make it outrageous. You can literally write these songs by exclusively naming things in your jeep and the quality only goes up.