Movie Review Monday: Popstar
Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!
This week's film is the 2016 comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, starring the The Lonely Island crew headlined by Andy Samberg.
This movie did not receive the attention it deserved. I think it may have been a little too clever for its own good, since the comedy satire poked fun in a very subtle, smart way at our present selves. The current music event movie formula (and modern pop music in general) is ripe for mocking, and this movie does very well at that. It is sort of Spinal Tap for today's climate (I don't know if it will be a classic like Spinal Tap, but the movies are similar in format at the least).
The mockumentary follows Conner4Real (Samberg) who is a sort of amalgamation of pop icons (Justin Bieber mostly). Conner used to be a part of a boy band, The Style Boyz (played by his fellow Lonely Island members), but went solo and became a worldwide phenomenon. We witness the release of his latest album, and the unexpected reaction.
The music is one of the big standouts of this movie. If you know Lonely Island, they are masters of musical comedy. They come up with a bunch of great original songs for the film, and I found myself listening to them again afterwards and appreciating them even more. This whole premise is a perfect platform for Lonely Island, and I'm glad they got to make this movie. I've been enjoying their stuff for a while now and it is great to see this awesome creative effort from them.
This movie flew under the radar earlier this year, but it is worth your time to check it out. It is available to rent and buy now in whatever way you like. Treat yourself to a fun time!