by Frank Calvillo
I remember watching Roger Ebert being interviewed on Charlie Rose many years ago and hearing him talk about the the integrity and responsibility of being a film critic. In order to illustrate his point, he cited his experience in having watched the recently-released Jackass: The Movie, a film which he described as having no artistic merit, but having made him laugh hysterically all the way through. Ebert pointed out that it was his responsibility as a film critic to report that the movie drew such a response from him, regardless of its low-brow quality. Not that I’m comparing myself to one of the greatest film critics who ever lived, but I definitely share his same philosophy when I say that the latest Andy Samberg vehicle Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a comedy full of offensive jokes and copious amounts of toilet humor, had me in stitches from start to finish as I welcomed a new addition to the mockumentary genre.
Co-written by Samberg, the comic actor plays Conner4Real, a Justin Bieber-like pop sensation who can do no wrong. His debut solo record sold millions and his eagerly-awaited follow up looks to elevate him to an even higher level of success and popularity than he’s already at. He’s even recruited a documentary team to record the album’s release and subsequent tour. When the album flops thanks to a collection of ridiculously put together songs, which touch on subjects such as gay rights and Bin Laden in the most tasteless of manners, Conner4Real becomes desperate to hold onto his celebrity status and will go to any lengths necessary to stay relevant, including getting back together with his former boy band.
Sometimes it’s hard to forget that Christopher Guest has got the market cornered on the mockumentary genre. This is because he’s so good at crafting such stories, but also because such attempts are decidedly hit-and-miss. Not here though. Popstar is one of the most refreshing entries into the mockumentary genre since Drop Dead Gorgeous came onto the scene back in the late ’90s. The filmmakers certainly did their homework and in turn have made a film which feels like a documentary, complete with authentic touches which bring forth side-splitting results. The best example of this comes when the crew is ordered to turn the camera off, yet leave the sound on when a tense moment happens between Conner4Real and his manager (Tim Meadows) after the former has found out that his album is flopping. The moment starts off with a serious tone, which is quickly replaced when a swarm of killer bees comes out of nowhere, leading uproarious laughter. Thanks to scenes such as this, Popstar proves itself worthy of true mockumentary status because it has discovered that the secret to the genre is to lovingly make fun of the very format being copied.
Woody Allen had a line in his 1998 effort Celebrity where Judy Davis so brilliantly stated, “You can learn a lot about a society by who it chooses to celebrate.” The line more than resonates today, and Popstar knows it. While the film is obviously making fun of musicians and artists who take themselves way more seriously than they should, the film’s biggest target is us — the people who follow celebrities and their inane activities, which run the gamut from buying milk to getting a haircut. There’s a sense that Conner4Real is a composite of everything that is wrong with us in terms of what we deem worthy of our praise and admiration. Society has literally dwindled to a point where the stupider the action, the more virtual applause it receives. In that sense, Popstar isn’t making fun of Bieber so much as it’s making fun of us.
Popstar is loaded (and I mean LOADED) with celebrity cameos as well as treasured actors in colorful supporting roles. Musicians including Snoop Dogg, Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, P!nk, Adam Levine, Carrie Underwood, and even Bieber himself turn up to add more hilarity to the whole shebang. Meanwhile, Sarah Silverman as a caring publicist, Maya Rudolph as a corporate executive, Will Arnett as a TMZ-like editor/host, and Joan Cusack as Conner4Real’s mom are all welcome sights.
However there’s no question that this is Samberg’s show and he knows it. The actor, whose past film projects have failed to fully capture the manic comedic brilliance of his television work, is pure gold here. He knows exactly where to take Conner4Real, making him someone you can imagine loathing were he a real celebrity, but also bringing forth elements of his character worth rooting for. This is truly one of the most inspired comic performances of the year.
I love it when a comedy such as Popstar can disguise itself as infantile, only to reveal a deceptively telling comment on modern society. Such films are rare, yet Popstar serves as proof that they do indeed exist thanks to its energetic send-up of not just its subject, but its own audience as well.
