“When you have a catchphrase the world is catched…by your phrase.”
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, the latest from The Lonely Island trio, is an in-your-face send-up of modern pop and music documentaries, explicitly in the vein of Justin Bieber’s 2011 flop Never Say Never. A heavy dose of fandom went into the making of this film, and the dedication does not go without notice. But the intense focus quickly progresses into an obstacle, forcing the film through a series of rough patches that result from the group simply trying too hard to do too much.
The film centers around Conner4Real, Samberg’s pop sensation who, like every character of a well-crafted mockumentary, is painfully unaware of his surroundings. He’s merely weeks away from dropping Conquest, his sophomore effort, and to ensure its success he has tabbed over 100 producers for the seventeen tracks. And in honor of U2’s Songs of Innocence privacy-diminishing PR catastrophe, Connor’s upped the anti, arranging for his music to be plugged into every home appliance in America. Combat that with a lead single entitled “Equal Rights,” an anthem that overwhelmingly supports gay marriage while also being unequivocally homophobic and Conner appears ready for a gruesome fall. (Not to worry, Conner will ensure you…The Onion wrote a glorifying review of of both the single and album.)
Boasting an unprecedented number of cameos, including the likes of Usher, Carrie Underwood, Pink and Adam Levine, Popstar appears to have the full support of the industry, who long ago traded in artistry for record sales. But, in much the same spirit as the rest of the film, what starts off as a funny addition turns into a painful gimmick as the appearances flood the storyline, transforming a fun “MTV: Behind the Music” play into an overbearing who’s who in music roll call.
What starts out as a strong opening act quickly fads as the headliner takes the stage. Conner proves to be a rather shallow character, both in terms of personality and development. And while Samberg had a lot to say about him, he (along with directors Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone) wasted it all within the first thirty minutes. As a result, audiences are left scratching their head for the last hour as the trio coasts to the finish line on folly, never caring that the gags are becoming more and more ridiculous without having any real motive behind such actions. And to think that most of those quips didn’t offer up a payoff.
Regardless Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping had the potential (and the creative minds) to be brilliant. But the end result comes off like an overstretched hour long comedy special that would have probably played better as a season long recurring SNL segment.
