Grade (B)
A highly comical satire of the pop music industry that very much entertains.
“POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING” follows the solo career of Conner, the most famous face in the pop industry. When his newest solo album flops he refuses to accept the fact his star is fading and that it may be in his best interest to reunite the boy band he came to fame in.
This film stars Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer who also teamed up to write the script, with Taccone and Schaffer taking over the directorial duties.
I had little expectations of this one prior to watching and was planning on giving it a short hook if the comical direction was overly ridiculous. Much to my surprise the comedy was ridiculous, but in a completely entertaining way. From the beginning I was laughing much more than I expected, and sure the much of the jokes were dumb, crude, and cheap at times, but many of them work perfectly for what this story wanted.
Unlike the annoying juvenile comedic direction “Zoolander 2” took in its satire of the modeling industry, this film delivers plenty of brainless laughs to more than pass the time. This script is relentless in its mocking of the pop industry and it was overly amusing. The writing was surprisingly clever at times and the lengths the group went to in writing their own mock songs for the script was a success.
Andy Samberg was excellent in this role and poured himself into the character of Conner. To pull this role off he had to go all in and he clearly did. He was effective and amusing in his performances and pulled off the role with hilarious impact. In a film where the performance of the lead is vital to the success of the project, Samberg nailed it and brought a believable charisma to the persona of Conner.
The rest of the cast were all solid as well. Sarah Silverman and Maya Rudolph were fun in their smaller roles and endless cameos all serve their purpose. There were so many cameos that the documentary format the story takes on lands with the intended impact. They help pass the time and their comments regarding Conner being often comical, and with the range of famous names this script is filled with, you never know who you will see next. It all helps cement the settings perfectly for the theme and with the wild collection of characters it really feels like a “True Hollywood Story” style of script.
I wasnt sure what I was getting into watching this film but Im glad I did becasue I laughed much more than expected. They knew what they wanted with this film and sold it perfectly. The story-line is simple and it never tries to take itself overly serious. The pace is swift and I found it to be a fun night with an outrageous comedy. If you have seen the trailer and think you may like it, you most likely will, and I recommend checking it out.
Time: 87 min
MPAA Rating: R (For some graphic nudity, language throughout, sexual content and drug use)