Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping has two things working against it immediately. The first is when someone compares a comedic film to a "full length SNL sketch". This normally means that what would usually make a four minute sketch on Saturday Night Live pretty funny, doesn't necessarily translate to an entire movie. It will usually have one to two good hearty laughs while the rest of it falls flat. The second thing working against the film is, sadly, Andy Samberg. He's a good comedian in small doses, but he's never really been leading-man material. While his Digital Shorts on SNL were the highlights of the show for a few years, his schtick gets old very quickly, and his humor doesn't land with a lot of viewers. Hot Rod even took a few years to get the "respect" it has. But even Brooklyn Nine-Nine never really hits that comedy tentpole of being something memorable, and even though I know there are a lot of fans of the show (I am not one of them), it will be forgotten as soon as it finishes its run. Though Popstar has both of these aspects working against it-- somehow it manages to work through these obstacles to produce a very funny film.
The film is shot like a mockumentary a la Spinal Tap about world famous pop star Conner4Real (Samberg) and the events leading up to the debut of his second album, subsequent tour, rise and fall. Among his entourage is his DJ Owen (Jorma Taccone), his manager (Tim Meadows), his publicist (Sarah Silverman), as well as plenty of other recognizable faces showing up as themselves in hilarious cameos. Conner began his career as one of a trio in a boy band known as Style Boyz, the third member, Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer), has since quit the music industry to be a farmer and amateur wood worker. Conner, due to fame and ego, parted ways and has become a major solo artist. However, his second album is hailed as one of the worst of all time which leads to his public and personal downfall from the music industry, despite several attempts to keep himself relevant.
As far as plot goes, it's pretty standard and predictable. But, that's almost the point of the movie. It's a straight up parody of everything pop culture and music, as well as an indictment of it. The film tackles everything from fame to songwriting to holograms to product endorsements to well, musician documentaries. I actually think the best parody of the entire film was the one that exposes TMZ for the room full of fuckbois they truly are (God bless you, Will Arnett). What The Lonely Island has done, in their debut film, is show the utter ridiculousness of the way pop culture is looked at today. With high egos being caught by cell phones, a single slip up can cause the catastrophic downfall of a once beloved icon. That, and well, writing shitty songs. Thankfully, this isn't what the film aims for-- some strangely preachy and symbolic movie full of deep thematic elements that illicit philosophical conversation. It aims to make you laugh at as many dick jokes as they can and still be funny.
Conner is probably Samberg's best character, and the perfect one for him to play. He's always been good at playing gratingly cocky characters that have little to no wherewithal. Some work, like Hot Rod, and some feel unbelievably forced, like Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But, with Conner, there's a nice balance of cocky idiot, with real human emotion. He's dumb and cocky, which leads to hilarious results. But, when he's not focused on himself, he's actually got heart, which makes him likable. With The Lonely Island backing him, Samberg has never been better. Every song feels like its own Digital Short, and each song would actually make a good one. They're all catchy, hilarious, and classic Lonely Island. All of the cameos are fantastic. It's actually a shame they show the Seal/wolf scene in the trailer because it's one of the funniest of the movie. To me, I actually thought Tim Meadows was one of the funniest highlights of the entire film. It's good to see him getting work again.
I'm guessing that Popstar isn't going to bring down the house with box office numbers, but what I'm willing to bet is that it will have a Hot Rod effect. The few that see it in theaters will give positive word of mouth to the film so that when it's available through all digital means, it'll make up the money it inevitably loses in this loud and packed summer lineup. Popstar is crude, crass, profane, but all servicing a very funny movie. It's stupid without ever being too dumb. It's smart without ever becoming intelligent. Not every scene lands its jokes, but the movie will make you laugh throughout-- like watching "Dick in a Box" thirty times in a row. And that's essentially all I wanted from it.
B
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