Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

From the whimsical minds of The Lonely Island, an outstanding comedic trio composed of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, comes Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016), a laugh-out-loud mockumentary that brilliantly parodies the cinematic form of the contemporary music documentary, as well as the eccentricities and excesses of our modern pop culture.

The film centers around Connor4Real (Andy Samberg), a wildly successful pop superstar whose career trajectory resembles those of many real-life pop icons. Following his departure from the hip-hop boy band, "The Style Boyz" under somewhat contentious circumstances, Connor embarks on a solo career. His debut album goes viral and catapults him into the dizzying heights of superstardom, complete with adoring fans, packed concert venues, and a lifestyle that luxuriates in opulence.

This fictional music mockumentary aces the fine details that define the genre—behind-the-scenes tour footage, talking-head interviews, dramatic personal tragedies and triumphs—while its tech-savvy esthetic lustrously evokes the era of star-studded music videos, vapid social media hype, and manufactured celebrity feuds. It also skillfully utilizes the familiar narrative arc of a superstar's rise and fall. Amid his meteoric success, Connor loses sight of the music, letting uncontrolled ego, superficial vanity, and an entourage of sycophants cloud his judgment. When his sophomore album "CONNquest" fails to live up to the expectations set by his debut success, Connor’s world begins to crumble in a fashion that's both comically absurd and oddly compassionate.

While Samberg takes the center stage as Connor4Real, both Taccone and Schaffer are pivotal to the narrative, playing Lawrence, a disgruntled former bandmate-turned-farmer, and Owen, the subservient DJ still in Connor's team, respectively. Amid plentiful laugh-out-loud vignettes and snappy one-liners, the movie explores themes of friendship, loyalty, the danger of unchecked fame, and the volatility of pop-culture fame. The film cleverly remarks on the absurdities and sad realities of the music industry, taking raucous joy in spoofing its tropes.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is bolstered by a bunch of hilariously over-the-top original songs capturing the range of ego-inflating anthems and deeply auto-tuned ballads of the modern pop landscape. The satirical lyrics are brilliant, with the songs serving as a commentary on the extreme narcissism and unmitigated extravagance of the pop world. Of course, these songs also fuel the straightforward comedy of the film, with Connor's utterly clueless and self-absorbed character drawing most of the laughs.

One of the movie's greatest strengths is its star-studded supporting cast and cameos. Stuffed with real-world music celebrities like Mariah Carey, DJ Khaled, Usher, Ringo Starr, and Justin Timberlake, the film cleverly blurs the boundary between fiction and reality, with these stars playing versions of themselves in tongue-in-cheek cameos. Many of these seasoned musicians willingly send themselves up, which not only adds comedic value but also lands a biting satirical punch on the celebrity culture.

In essence, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, with its sharp wit and sense of fun, provides enough laughs to keep pop culture enthusiasts and comedy fans entertained. The Lonely Island's brand of humor is evident throughout the movie and is a key part of its appeal. Their skilled handling of this humor, their knack of blending parody with earnest affection for their subjects, imbues the film with an appealing charm that's hard to resist. The trio's ability to provide a fun, vibrant, and heartening film that delivers both an effective critique of the pop music industry and a comic spectacle makes this mockumentary a cinematic experience that's truly out of the ordinary.