A whole lot can happen in 3 years: entire cultures can change, the landscape of music can evolve, and people can be much different than their former selves once were. One thing that has proven to be the same, however, is how ridiculous and often disgusting the lifestyles of famous musicians can be. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is an incredible mockumentary about this very subject and one that does so in the most hilarious ways possible. Told through interviews with famous musicians and the downfall/rebirth of its fictional pop megastar protagonist, this movie is a fantastic satire of this grossly commercialized industry. Even though it is obvious as to who wrote and produced this film due to its silly and sometimes nonsensical storytelling, this film is as hilarious as it is endlessly quotable. Accompanied by an original story, soundtrack, and performances from the three legendary stars of The Lonely Island themselves, this movie is a fantastic testament to not just the dangers of self-righteousness, but how the power of friendship can overcome anything.
Conner (Andy Samberg), Owen (Jorma Taccone), and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) have been best friends since they were kids, capitalizing on their friendship through their pop group The Style Boyz. After the band has a nasty breakup, Conner decides to go on a solo career. While initially successful, he experiences the ups and downs of a popstar's career as his life spins hilariously out of control. Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer are a powerhouse of comedic talent when they work together on a project and this film is no different. The absurd eccentricities that they are able to channel into whatever it is they write are the most prevalent part of this entire story. While it plays out as a great satire of the music industry, there's also this layer of exaggerated reality that is so trademark of The Lonely Island which makes this film so enjoyable. It's not even that it's an endless dumb comedy, it's very clever in how it makes fun of celebrities while also being self-aware of the genre that it is a part of. Every character was hilarious in their own way and just like the band in real life, Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer play parodies of themselves, which leads to some fantastic comedic moments. And of course, no comedy film of this magnitude could hold itself up without a massive amount of cameos. There are so many different musicians and comedians playing musicians that play a part in telling Conner's story that are used perfectly. From Questlove to Justin Timberlake to the king of comedy music himself "Weird Al" Yankovic, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping utilizes this loaded cast with the utmost creativity.
This film works exceptionally well as a mockumentary and having three actual comedy musicians be the ones to parody the music industry was an amazing choice. It was an incredible style to choose for this medium and for The Lonely Island to adapt their ideas into a film. While the story generally works throughout, the biggest flaw that I had a hard time getting over was the lack of an interesting plot. The story is hilarious, don't get me wrong, but there was absolutely nothing new about the arc for this protagonist and proved itself to play out very generically. Since Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping did not really have that interesting of a plot, this film pretty much entirely relies on its music and the chemistry between Andy, Jorma, and Akiva. The soundtrack is incredible and while the song's contents themselves might seem a bit silly, it's ridiculous fun at its finest. Thankfully, if you're watching this film, you should know what you're getting into and shouldn't really expect any outstanding screenwriting past its comedy elements. And once again, the cheesiness of this film and its message were unremarkable but work so well. This movie is just an ode to the power of everlasting friendship and the way that it is executed is extremely simple, but endlessly entertaining nonetheless.
As far as pun-based, surface-level comedy goes, The Lonely Island absolutely has that genre on lock. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the perfect outlet for this band to transfer their immense and hilarious comedy from their music to the big screen in the truest fashion that they know: making fun of themselves and the type of music that dominates today's culture. Riddled with cameos and gut-punching jabs at the smallest parts of our society, this film is an excellent, if also hilariously exaggerated, look at how fame corrupts.
My Rating: ★★★½
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