Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (Lonely Island film)

[up_the_hampipe]

So Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island have made a film in collaboration with comedy overlord Judd Apatow. It's called Popstar and it's about a popstar. Much like many blockbuster comedy movies these days, it seems to be relying on a barrage of cameos.

Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S207jSgL_jw

Second trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJMYfQvLmOM

Also there's a song by the popstar character just released that uses Bin Laden as a metaphor for sex https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr9Kaa1sycs

I won't pretend I don't find some Lonely Island stuff funny. But this does not look very good.

[Phil_A]

Lonely Island is still a thing? Blimey.

They were fairly amusing when they were everywhere six years ago, but why would you go and see a film based on them in 2016? It's like trying to market a film starring Greg The Bunny.

Yeah, this looks dogshit. All those wanky celeb cameos in the trailer. I shouted "FUCK OFF" when

Spoiler alert

Cowell

[close]

appeared, it's practically an autonomous response by this point. It pains me how that insidious cunt has become like an indelible shit-stain on popular culture. He just won't fucking ever go away!

[BritishHobo]

My hope and assumption is that this is doing sorta what The Dictator did (in terms of marketing, rather than comedy). You know how all the trailers for The Dictator painted it as a big cameo-stuffed thing about a mad dictator riding camels down streets and mingling with celebrities, and then it turned out the majority of the film was that much quieter plot about him working in a vegan cafe or something and falling in love with that girl? That.

I remember reading about this back when it was called Conner4Real, and the plot then was pitched as

Spoiler alert

a hugely famous popstar having to go back to his childhood home when his career tanks, and start performing with his old childhood band again.

[close]

So hopefully all that mad stuff in the trailer is just early establishing stuff about him at the height of his career, and the meat of the film has been well-hidden.

[Jerzy Bondov]

If it's half as good as Hot Rod it'll be great. My name is Rod and I like to party

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk

[phantom_power]

I thought that second trailer looked pretty good. Full of the off-kilter humour that Lonely Island does really well

[up_the_hampipe]

If it's half as good as Hot Rod it'll be great. My name is Rod and I like to party

That's what I'm hoping. The "You look pretty" bit from Hot Rod gives me endless amusement.

[SavageHedgehog]

They were fairly amusing when they were everywhere six years ago, but why would you go and see a film based on them in 2016? It's like trying to market a film starring Greg The Bunny.

The title is also a parody of a Justin Beiber documentary from the start of the decade, since which Bieber has "retired" been disgraced and redeemed in the eyes of the general public. The whole thing feels like something that was written back then, and took ages to greenlight. And maybe that's the case, with Samberg's added commercial kudos from Brooklyn Nine Nine sealing the deal?

But I like these guys and will check it out unless word is truly toxic.

[BritishHobo]

Pretty specific jabs as well - bit in the trailer where Conner does a shit in Anne Frank's House, after that thing where Bieber wrote an odd message in the AFH guestbook.

[up_the_hampipe]

78% on Rotten Tomatoes with 95 reviews.

Seen some glowing tweets from comedy people as well. Might actually go and see this if it gets released over here at any point.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I watched this tonight as there's a decent version on kickass now, it has hardcoded chinese subtitles but they're easy enough to ignore. I really really liked it, admittedly I have a weakness for musical comedy, and like Samberg a lot, but I think it's a pleasingly silly and daft affair, and if one joke doesn't work the next couple tend to do so. Most of the songs are strong but only intermittently funny, but the Bin Laden one has some really great verses, a few of which are almost as good as a Morris parody. Strong words indeed, I know. There are some faullts, mainly an over reliance on celebrity cameos, but overall I think it's a huge amount of fun.

[Timothy]

I watched this tonight as there's a decent version on kickass now, it has hardcoded chinese subtitles but they're easy enough to ignore. I really really liked it, admittedly I have a weakness for musical comedy, and like Samberg a lot, but I think it's a pleasingly silly and daft affair, and if one joke doesn't work the next couple tend to do so. Most of the songs are strong but only intermittently funny, but the Bin Laden one has some really great verses, a few of which are almost as good as a Morris parody. Strong words indeed, I know. There are some faullts, mainly an over reliance on celebrity cameos, but overall I think it's a huge amount of fun.

I watched it as well but didn't like it that much. I had high hopes but it was all really mediocre. I like musical comedy and the Lonely Island and the songs were really good (as in really bad, so funny, so good) but the whole storyline around it was really boring imo.

My hope and assumption is that this is doing sorta what The Dictator did (in terms of marketing, rather than comedy). You know how all the trailers for The Dictator painted it as a big cameo-stuffed thing about a mad dictator riding camels down streets and mingling with celebrities, and then it turned out the majority of the film was that much quieter plot about him working in a vegan cafe or something and falling in love with that girl? That.

Unfortunately it's not. I had the same hope.

[phantom_power]

I watched the first 15 minutes and thought it was fantastic. I can't wait to get time to see the rest. Not every joke lands but the hit rate is pretty high

[up_the_hampipe]

Watched it last night and liked it. Some great lines in there, lots of silliness, quite a good story. Typically it drags towards the end but almost every comedy film suffers that. The cameos don't interfere too much either and they obviously make sense given the subject matter. It's not trying to force celebs in like Zoolander 2 or something.

[phantom_power]

My only real problem is that it gets resolved too quickly and easily. I would liked to have seen more of the tailspin before the revival but it is a minor point. I wouldn't be surprised if that section was edited down for some reason, given the sub-90-minute running time

[up_the_hampipe]

This Hunter the Hungry track from the movie soundtrack could seriously pass for a legitimate modern rap track. The lyrics are ridiculous but not out of place for the genre of hip-hop it is parodying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YHAJ7XEB7w

[checkoutgirl]

Watched this last night and was duly impressed. Packed with jokes and this might be the one that changes my opinion on Samberg. I saw Hot Rod or whatever that other joint he was in is called and wasn't bowled over. Also he was in an Adam Sandler film so that would naturally make me wary of him. But this is solid throughout. Very high gag rate to begin and kept the Spinal Tap/Rutles style pace pretty well.

It ended very conventionally with a reunion featuring Michael Bolton and there should be some sort of warning for that. Also should have some sticker on it saying "Danger, Contains Simon Cowell". Every time Cowell appeared I histrionically wretched to signal my revulsion. I can't even look at him without feeling slightly queasy.

Well worth a watch 8/10. 4 bags of popcorn and a pair of raybans.

[checkoutgirl]

There's a fairly lowbrow gag in this where he's doing an autograph and I was guffawing at it. Don't want to say what the joke is but fuck me!

[up_the_hampipe]

Bumping this as the film has been trending on twitter today, seemingly out of the blue, with people professing their love so it gets the recognition it deserved. Despite positive critical reaction, it was a box office failure, which is a shame because it really was one of the best comedy films in recent memory. I believe it's on Netflix at the moment, so definitely check it out. I think the whole thing kicked off from this great deleted scene someone posted https://twitter.com/thejoshl/status/1115466664408113152

There's a fairly lowbrow gag in this where he's doing an autograph and I was guffawing at it. Don't want to say what the joke is but fuck me!

This moment and the TMZ parody are enough reason to see the movie.

[Bad Ambassador]

It's on Film4 a week tomorrow.

[SavageHedgehog]

There are some great gags in it, but it tanks in the last act in a way which for me rather undermines the whole. It's worth watching once but I wouldn't watch it again.

[goinggoinggone]

I was put off from seeing this when I heard that there's a moment in the film where Samberg's character gets unfavorably compared to Justin Bieber, even though the whole film is clearly suposed to be a jab at  "The Biebs" and his ilk, thus diluting any intended satire they where going for.  I guess they didn't want to get sued (which is fair enough, I suppose), but it still strikes me as pretty toothless, especially since The Emperor Palpatine of Popular Music makes an appearence in the first trailer.

[SavageHedgehog]

I do always find it a bit irritating when they make a film where it's an obvious pastiche of someone, and then they mention the actual person or group in the film (e.g. Jacques Cousteau in Life Aquatic, Westboro in Red State). Takes me out of the world a little bit.

[samadriel]

especially since The Emperor Palpatine of Popular Music makes an appearence in the first trailer.

Elton John? (But then again no)

[goinggoinggone]

I do always find it a bit irritating when they make a film where it's an obvious pastiche of someone, and then they mention the actual person or group in the film (e.g. Jacques Cousteau in Life Aquatic, Westboro in Red State). Takes me out of the world a little bit.

Yeah, I was gonna mention Red State... a bit weird that, seeing as I don't see any legal decision for it, unlike Bieber.  Surely, The Westboro Babtist Church don't have the clout to sue Hollywood producers?

[goinggoinggone]

Elton John? (But then again no)

Simon Cowell... thought that was pretty obvs.

[samadriel]

Simon Cowell... thought that was pretty obvs.

Oh, sorry, I'm Australian, he's a pretty minor figure here.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Popstar was a really great film, deserved to be a bigger hit. Most of the critics of it were weirdly pernickety and joyless, when in fact it was a great film full of funny gags

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Oh and the lead character isn't supposed to be Bieber, he's an ex boyband member gone solo so very much an amalgamation

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I watched it a few months ago. I thought it was pretty good but could have been better. Now I struggle to remember much about it (although Tim Meadows threatening to eat someone's head has stuck with me).

[goinggoinggone]

Oh, sorry, I'm Australian, he's a pretty minor figure here.

Lucky you... really! I'm not being sarcastic.