Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Starring: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Imogen Poots, Questlove (cameo), Carrie Underwood (cameo), Nas (cameo), Usher (cameo), 50 Cent (cameo), Ringo Starr (cameo), Simon Cowell (cameo), Adam Levine (cameo), Akon (cameo), Mariah Carey (cameo), Pink (cameo), Kevin Nealon, Mario Lopez, Will Arnett, Chelsea Peretti, Mike Birbiglia, Bill Hader, Pharrell Williams (cameo), Seal (cameo), Martin Sheen, Will Forte, Justin Timberlake (uncredited)
Directed by Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A musician (Andy Samberg) leaves his popular group to do a solo album. When the album bombs, he does everything possible to maintain his celebrity status.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (great title, by the way). It's not brilliant comedy, but it's often a funny send up of vain, unintelligent popstars who live in their own reality and value celebrity above all else. It's presented in mockumentary style- we don't get nearly enough of these. I do wish the film was funnier, but I did laugh fairly regularly throughout the movie. This is certainly not destined to be a classic comedy, but it wasn't a bad way to spend an hour and twenty-seven minutes (short movie!).

I suspect a great deal of your enjoyment (or lack thereof) depends on how you feel about Andy Samberg. The guy has won me over based on his work in the television series "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", so I was excited to see him headline this movie. I think he's funny and it was entertaining seeing him as this clueless musician. Samberg and (co-directors) Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone are the three main characters, and their interactions were enjoyable to watch. It's obvious they are friends in real life- they had fun on screen together, which is infectious. The rest of the supporting cast is decent, but this film went a little overboard on the musician cameos. If you look up at the top of this page, I just stopped included names because I was tired of writing out people who showed up for a few seconds here or there. Sarah Silverman was a good choice, but she's underutilized. Tim Meadows is always entertaining and he's criminally overlooked. I was happy to see him here and he did good work. Justin Timberlake did a great job in a funny uncredited role. I like that he's open to doing things like this. The celebrity and musician cameos weren't bad- it was fun seeing so many recognizable people, even if it was only for a short time (I do think they could have cut a few). Still, as a whole, the cast works here.

The story is a bit simple, but it touched on some important themes. This movie addresses the celebrity-at-all-cost mentality, the idea that you're better off on your own (rather than working as a team). It addressed the role technology and social media are playing in the interactions between celebrities and non-celebrities. It addressed fame and its fleeting nature. While the main story is about a guy falling out with his friends, the movie does a surprisingly good job of holding the mirror up to the music industry.

The music itself was decent, although it was all so absurd. Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone have written some hilarious songs (Lazy Sunday is still an all-time favorite of mine). I was expected another classic song to come out of this. Some of the music is funny, but there wasn't that incredible song that you want to listen to over and over again. For a film like this, with the Lonely Island guys involved, I just expected the music to be better.

I liked Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, but I certainly didn't love it. As I've said many times, comedies are notoriously difficult to do. So, while I wish this movie was funnier, I'll take a good comedy any day of the week. This might not be a very rewatchable movie, but I enjoyed the film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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