Review of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) by Johnny T — 24 Aug 2016

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping updates the rock mockumentary for the 21st century mainstream -- and hits many of its low-hanging targets with side-splitting impact. What's good about this movie is funny, and refreshing, enough to make the dry spots feel more tolerable in retrospect. Not every joke lands but Popstar does just enough to keep you entertained with its cavalcade of musician cameos and a great lead performance by Samberg. This new movie feels more like a series of sketches that all happen to revolve around the same handful of characters. That said, those sketches are fairly funny, and if this comedy has all the depth of a summer jam, it will eventually be the kind of late-night download that will inspire giggles for years to come. The pleasure of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping derives not from the sting or accuracy of its satire (though Will Arnett does a pretty killer Harvey Levin), but from the precision of its timing and the singular comic energy it derives from the talents on display. Popstar takes aim at everything that is artificial and plastic in contemporary pop in a spirit of love rather than spite. It's a celebration of the curious authenticity - the innocence, the sweetness, the guiltless pleasure - of music whose badness is sometimes hard to separate from its genius.

VERDICT: "In The Zone" - [Mixed Reaction] These kinds of movies are usually movies that had some good things, but some bad things kept it from being amazing. This rating says buy an ex-rental or a cheap price of the DVD to own. If you consider cinema, ask for people's opinion on the film. (Films that are rated 2.5 or 3 stars).