Review of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) by Patrick L — 17 Aug 2016

"Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is an R-rated comedy with a soul and a voice. In your face "Dirty Grandpa" and suck it "Fifty Shades of Black".".

Movie Review: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Date Viewed: June 3 2016.

Directed By Akiva Schaffer (The Watch and Hot Rod) and Jorma Taccone (MacGruber).

Written By Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone.

Starring: Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone, Tim Meadows, Sarah Silverman, Imogen Poots, James Buckley, Bill Hader, Will Arnett, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Will Forte and Chris Redd.

Featuring cameo appearances from Seal, Simon Cowell, Martin Sheen, Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Adam Levine, Usher, Snoop Dogg, DJ Khaled, Pink, Emma Stone, Arcade Fire, Kevin Nealon, Michael Bolton, Ringo Starr, Jimmy Fallon, Nas, RZA, Danger Mouse and Justin Timberlake.

Finally, an R-rated comedy with a soul and a voice. "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" maybe a raunchy and sloppy mockumentary comedy but it works. The Lonely Island trio (Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) first hit the spotlight on "Saturday Night Live" with their famous Digital Shorts such as "Lazy Sunday", "Dick in a Box" and "Jizz in My Pants". When they wanted to make movies, their first feature "Hot Rod" from 2007 wasn't so hot. Taccone later made the SNL-skit/turned feature film "MacGruber" which really bombed but it somehow developed a cult following. However, The Lonely Island have turned what could've been just a mediocre 5-minute skit into a really funny movie. "Popstar" has a lot of great songs and it is the best movie about poking fun of the music industry since Rob Reiner's "This is Spinal Tap".

"Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" takes you behind the scenes into the life of Conner4Real (Samberg), a Bieber-like pop singer who is in a downward spiral after his second album flops at the Billboard charts. His die-hard fans say that he and his former bandmates should get back together but it isn't that simple. Lawrence "Kid Brain" Dunn (Schaffer) left the band because Conner was taking all the credit for their writing so he decided to become a farmer and live far, far, far away from the entertainment world. Conner's other bandmate Owen "Kid Contact" Bouchard (Taccone) is still in the group but only as his DJ. The mockumentary also has interviews with famous celebrities and members of Conner's entourage to see why Conner4Real became a popular musican. Conner4Real was also romantically involved with famous actress Ashley Wednesday (Imogen Poots) but their relationship was paused after a pack of wolves ruined Conner's planned marriage proposal and attacked singer Seal (who plays himself).

Soon after, Conner4Real's record sales begin tanking, he receives nasty internet comments from his Instagram account and his manager, Harry Duggins (Tim Meadows) leaves him for another popular singer. Conner's publicist, Paula Klein (Sarah Silverman) assures him he can come back but the only way forward is to bring his old Style Boyz bandmates back together. There are some famous entertainment references in "Popstar" such as Will Arnett as a Harvey Klein figure who runs a TMZ-like program which targets Conner4Real all the time. Even though it feels like one long SNL-skit (it only 86 minutes long), it is consistently entertaining and Andy Samberg gives a vastly funny performance as Conner4Real. It is foul-mouthed and cameo-filled with famous singers (Carrie Underwood, Usher, Pink, DJ Khaled, Mariah Carey, Arcade Fire, Justin Timberlake) and former "SNL" alumni (Meadows, Silverman, Bill Hader, Will Forte, Maya Rudolph, Kevin Nealon and Jimmy Fallon) but "Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping" is a hilarious comedy that rocks. In your face "Dirty Grandpa" and suck it "Fifty Shades of Black".