Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

Universal Pictures | Release Date: June 3, 2016

8.2	USER SCORE Universal acclaim based on 281 Ratings

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User Reviews

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jrodfilmsJun 4, 2016

its funny, sometimes annoying, and with a dated concept. but it should be checked out because it has alot of cameos and basically feels like an old SNL movie from the 90s.

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

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mijxeroOct 1, 2016

Lonely island is great at making funny, catchy, music. They are not great at making a movie that made me laugh. There were a couple scenes and of course the music that were funny, but the rest was just really frustrating to watch. Not theLonely island is great at making funny, catchy, music. They are not great at making a movie that made me laugh. There were a couple scenes and of course the music that were funny, but the rest was just really frustrating to watch. Not the worst thing I've seen, but definitely glad I only rented it.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

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CytololJun 5, 2016

The reviews threw me on this one so I actually saw it despite my concerns. It's okay. Not worthy of these reviews though, so I felt compelled to write. There's a few very funny moments but mostly it's purely dopey stuff. I love Andy inThe reviews threw me on this one so I actually saw it despite my concerns. It's okay. Not worthy of these reviews though, so I felt compelled to write. There's a few very funny moments but mostly it's purely dopey stuff. I love Andy in Brooklyn Nine-Nine and on SNL but this is, in my opinion, not as good. I'd do 5.5 if I could, but I'll be nice and round up because I love Samberg.

Furthermore this could have been the Lonely Island movie, and should have been probably? But they decided to make it a different band for some reason.… Expand

1 of 10 users found this helpful19

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TVJerryJun 10, 2016

The title gives you an idea of the movie's premise: Cram a non-stop barrage of satirical takes on every aspect of pop stardom. Andy Samberg and his The Lonely Island creators (Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone) play a boy band that breaks upThe title gives you an idea of the movie's premise: Cram a non-stop barrage of satirical takes on every aspect of pop stardom. Andy Samberg and his The Lonely Island creators (Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone) play a boy band that breaks up when the lead (Samberg) gets too cocky and goes solo. It's shot in faux doc style with a fast pace of gags and endless spoofs. Some of them are duds, but just as many land a laff. The inevitable song parodies try too hard to be outrageous, but manage to entertain. Of course, there are dozens of cameos, some playing themselves and others hiding behind characters. It's got a good-natured energy and never stops trying to be funny…and some of it works.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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SpangleDec 14, 2016

Popstar: Never Stop Popping is the latest concoction from musical comedy trio The Lonely Island. Telling the story of rapper Conner4Real and his past membership with the rap group The Style Boyz, Popstar is a mockumentary musical comedy akinPopstar: Never Stop Popping is the latest concoction from musical comedy trio The Lonely Island. Telling the story of rapper Conner4Real and his past membership with the rap group The Style Boyz, Popstar is a mockumentary musical comedy akin to This Is Spinal Tap. Similar to that 1980s comedy classic, Popstar offers an insightful look at the music industry and the bloated ego that comes along with it for many stars. At the end of the day though, Popstar often feels like an elongated Lonely Island Youtube video that is not funny enough to justify the length. Never laugh out loud funny, Popstar offers many chuckles and is largely irreverent enough to be entertaining, but never truly reaches the comedic heights could have aspired to touch.

Starring Andy Samberg as Conner4Real, Samberg turns in his typical brand of comedy with Conner4Real being an idiot and self-absorbed guy who is treated as a legend of the music industry. Alongside him are the rest of The Lonely Island group as well as a wealth of former SNL actors such as Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Kevin Nealon, Tim Meadows, Joan Cusack, and Will Forte. All starring in largely small roles (other than Meadows), these characters do add a lot in terms of comedic talent to this film. In particular, Bill Hader's small role as a guitar technician for Conner that enjoys "flatlining" is hysterical and the type of dumb, silly comedy to be expected from a film of this sort. Through The Lonely Island, there is obviously great chemistry and comedic ability between the trio. This often comes to light, but never amounts to hilarity and simply relies upon silly lines and small visual gags that elicit laughs, but are fleeting and non-substantial.

When compared to the best comedies of the year thus far, such as The Nice Guys, Love & Friendship, or Ghostbusters (sue me), Popstar's laughs are more inconsistent. Many jokes do fall flat and the film can go long stretches where there are apparent joke attempts simply through the absurdity of the situations, but many do not land. Compared to those best films, the film's dialogue is a lot goofier and takes itself less seriously, but has less of a comedic pay-off. Now, of course, this is not to say Popstar is not funny. The random humor of The Lonely Island does appeal to me, but simply does not lend itself to being a full film due to the hit-and-miss nature of this style of comedy. Fortunately, when it does hit, it is funny and when it does miss, it is not eye-rollingly bad or lame. Instead, it is simply a joke that did not work as well and the film offers so many of them along the way, it is easy to look past bad jokes and still get a lot of enjoyment out of the film.

As for its portrayal of the music industry, Popstar's storyline is pretty typical and does not offer a unique perspective, but it is an entertaining and informative look at the life of a popstar who blew up beyond the scope of his former groupmates. Becoming conceited and self-absorbed, Conner4Real discounts his past friends and looks down upon them and becomes obsessed with his success alone. This certainly has a negative impact on his own success and he is forced to recognize he did not reach these heights alone. Clearly, this is not unique, but the backstage look at the pop industry and camaraderie that can exist between performers in the industry is fun and says a lot about the current state of the music industry and its reliance upon concerts and social media. In this way, it does often function similar to This Is Spinal Tap, but updates it for the modern age and, in this way, it is a worthy contender with the comedy classic as both offer an engaging look at the state of the industry.

An overall middling comedy, Popstar: Never Stop Popping offers a lot of jokes that either hit or miss, but the hits are low and the misses are often only slightly off-the-mark. Thus, it is neither hysterical or appallingly unfunny. Instead, it is simply middle-of-the-road entertainment that largely positively rides on the shoulders of the comedic and charismatic talent it presents to the audience. The end result of that being an enjoyable and brisk hour and a half that more than entertains.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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WheelzFourReelzJun 26, 2016

This movie has a lot of really funny moments and some great songs. However, there are certainly some jokes, particularly in the third act, that didn't work. It's a solid story that feels irritating in some points and the documentary filmThis movie has a lot of really funny moments and some great songs. However, there are certainly some jokes, particularly in the third act, that didn't work. It's a solid story that feels irritating in some points and the documentary film style wasn't that consistent, but it was overall pretty enjoyable.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

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NeoGeoJun 10, 2016

You see, this is a really odd case. I watched the movie and, well, not really expecting much, I didn't enjoy it or hate it. I only laughed around two times throughout the whole movie, and it's humor seemed lacking for me. I don't know ifYou see, this is a really odd case. I watched the movie and, well, not really expecting much, I didn't enjoy it or hate it. I only laughed around two times throughout the whole movie, and it's humor seemed lacking for me. I don't know if that's just me. But either way, it wasn't a letdown or an amazing movie. It was...meh, to say the least.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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KaptenVideoDec 9, 2016

Considering how much I like the comedian Andy Samberg, it's kind of surprising that I've mostly seen him in smaller trivial movie roles and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", but not "SNL" which is his main body of work on screen.

So the catching up mayConsidering how much I like the comedian Andy Samberg, it's kind of surprising that I've mostly seen him in smaller trivial movie roles and "Brooklyn Nine-Nine", but not "SNL" which is his main body of work on screen.

So the catching up may begin with "Popstar" which gives him a big movie role. In a rather little known and commercially flopped movie but still! Co-written with "SNL" buddies Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Tacco, all three forming a rapping boy band. The most successful one goes solo later and this is mostly his story about going places, then falling down and rediscovering the charms of having your true buddies with you, always. The result is mockumentary-style modern music business fable, hitting on all the main cliches and having a surprising amount of real life stars cameoing, mostly as themselves commenting on the main character's career. More on that later.

Like many projects by famous American screen comedians, "Popstar" has some good ideas and ambition but doesn't really reach out to any refreshing new ground, relying mostly on the charms of the cast and their ability to improvise. They try quite hard and steadily, to lampoon the American new pop music industry – where mediocrity rules and promotion is way more important than the product – but end up mostly imitating or rehashing the stuff they are supposed to laugh at. So if you like Samberg, you will be at least somewhat amused by the result; if you don't know or care about him you can quite safely miss this movie.

Judd Apatow is credited as one of the producers. His "extended family" has actually produced similar lampooning comedies in the first half of 2000's. Some of them are actually good and still watch-worthy: "Anchorman" (about 1970's TV news business) "Walk Hard" (about music business) and "Talladega Nights" (about NASCAR racing). So if you don't dislike Will Ferrell or John C. Reilly or Apatow school of modern rude but sweet comedy, you should check them out. Just to let you know: "Popstar" really has amazing amout of real life stars in small roles, playing themselves mostly. Including Questlove, Carrie Underwood, NAS, Usher, 50 Cent, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Simon Cowell, Adam Levine (Maroon 5), Akon, Mariah Carey (insisting she's the most humble person she knows), Pink, radio host Big Boy, DJ Khaled, A$AP Rocky, RZA, T.I., Pharell Williams, Seal, Snoop Dogg, Weird Al Yankovic, Michael Bolton, The Roots, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Danger Mouse, Jimmy Fallon, Arcade Fire. Also popping in are some cool comedy people like Sarah Silverman, Will Arnett, and Bill Hader.

Yes, it's a good 10-minute sketch stretched to over 80 minutes... but I still quite enjoyed it. Go, Samberg!… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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