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Trust Weighted
Very Good
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66Trust Points
Wick's Review
Summary - Very Good 3.5
Andy Samberg and his Lonely Island confreres Akiva & Jorma go big in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Justin Bieber big. The Biebs and other hip white popstars from Ringo Star to Adam Levine are the target of this big budget satire. A couple dozen celebrity cameos goose the Grammy Quotient, 4Real.
Most of the laughs are in the trailer however. Plus Popstar ends up feeling like an extended SNL skit, notwithstanding that it’s got a real plot and everything. The Biebs? Popstar is Adam Sandler territory.
Acting - Very Good 3.5
The Lonely Island Trio
Three boys started doing comedy growing up in Berkeley. One has a face made for TV. The other two don’t, but wrote & directed the movie, so play the inevitable sidekicks – Kid Brain & Kid Contact.
- Andy Samberg as Kid Conner Friel / Conner4Real, the breakout star. Samberg nails it, 4Real.
- Akiva Schaffer as Kid Brain, Conner’s former bandmate and songwriter. He writes the best beats.
- Jorma Taccone as Kid Contact, Conner’s former bandmate and current DJ
Others
- Sarah Silverman as Conner4Real’s publicist
- Tim Meadows as Conner4Real’s manager
- Justin Timberlake shines as Conner’s chef
- Bill Hader also shines as Zippy, his roadie
- Imogen Poots plays Conner4Real’s girlfriend, notwithstanding that he’s not interested in girls.
- James Buckley as Sponge, a member of Conner’s entourage
- Chris Redd as a for-real rapper
- Joan Cusack Connor’s mom
- Maya Rudolph as Deborah: She pronounces it funny.
- Will Forte as Conner’s bagpipe player
- Joanna Newsom as Steam Punk Doctor
- “Weird Al” Yankovic as Hammerleg Lead Singer
CMZ stands in for TMZ
- Will Arnett is more strenuous than hilarious as the main CMZ guy, a spoof on Harvey Levin.
- Chelsea Peretti, Mike Bisbiglia & Eric André as his minions
Celebrity Cameos
Martin Sheen, Adam Levine, Mariah Carey, Snoop Dogg, Simon Cowell, Carrie Underwood, Usher, DJ Khaled, Seal, Pink, Questlove, Jimmy Fallon, Danger Mouse, Michael Bolton, Arcade Fire, Nas, RZA, Ringo Starr, A$AP Rocky & Pharrell Williams
Male Stars - Great 4.0
Female Stars - Very Good 3.5
Female Costars - Good 3.0
Male Costars - Very Good 3.5
Film - Very Good 3.5
The Lonely Island trio of Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone & Andy Samberg deserves another time at bat based on Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Comedy is hard, but their film is often funny.
It’s also wildly uneven, right from the open. The Paramount logo fanfare stumbles, which seemed like part of a gag, but apparently is not. What’s up with that?
Direction - Great 4.0
Dialogue - Good 3.0
Music - Great 4.0
Visuals - Great 4.0
Edge - Risqué 2.3
Connor-B-Gay, laughably so with the song Equal Rights, which turns into a cry of cognitive dissonance from a boy trying to deny he’s gay.