The mockumentary is all but a dead format in mainstream cinema. Not that is was ever thriving, but since the format was repurposed for found-footage horror flicks, there has been precious little comedies put out in the format, save anything Christopher Guest and crew put out.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the new film from the Lonely Island, the rap trio composed of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, and utilizes this format very well. Intercutting an impressive amount of fake interviews with established music industry heavyweights, including Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Nas, Usher, 50 Cent, Ringo Starr, Akon, DJ Khaled, and so forth, the movie tells the story of the latest release from superstar Conner 4 Real (Samberg), and the tour to promote his album.
He's an egomaniac, a member of a three piece outfit called The Style Boyz (the other members being Taccone and Schaffer), before he split off on a solo career and poisoned his relationship with one of the members (Schaffer). Surrounded by entourage that can never tell him no, Conner lives a life of luxury and ignorance, until his latest release bombs both critically and financially, and he has to bring on a new up-and-coming rapper to open his tour just get ticket sales up.
In addition to the multitude of musicians tapped to star, there is also Sarah Silverman as Conner's publicist, Tim Meadows as his manager, Joan Cusack as his mom, Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, and Will Forte. It's an impressive lineup of comedians who all deliver in various ways, and add an extra bit of fun to the proceedings.
The real star here, though, is the music. You either love or hate the Lonely Island's output (which includes I'm On a Boat, I Just Had Sex, Jizz in My Pants, and more), and I myself am a pretty big fan of their stuff. The songs are all dumb jokes, but they are just the right amount of dumb, if that makes sense. The songs written for this film include an opening number about Conner's humility, a riff on Spaniard accents, a song about not being gay but still cool with equal rights, and a song about deep thoughts. Honestly, I would have preferred the movie to showcase more the songs, as only three get full productions and the rest are no more than an iTunes sample to entice you to buy the album. I suspect the digital/blu-ray/DVD (whatever you call it these days) release will have an extended cut with these songs more fully fleshed out.
Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy the rest of the movie; it has plenty of laughs throughout, including one hilarious scene where Conner signs a member of that I'm sure few people have signed. But the film estranges the trio and while Samberg is funny enough on his own, Taccone and Schaffer to hold up much on their individual scenes and the movie has some real sparks when they are altogether again (oops, minor spoilers, although honestly you could have predicted that).
The closest comparison I can draw to this movie is This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and while I am not saying these two movies are close in quality (nothing here will enter the lexicon quite like "These go to 11."), the formula set forth in that older film plays well here. Popstar is entertaining and funny enough to act as a nice diversion from the oncoming summer heat. But it will probably play better on your home theater, where an extended cut with more of the songs will hopefully be available. That is, after all, The Lonely Island's greatest strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment