Movie #63 2020: Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

Never before has a movie had such potential to be an utter disaster. This could have been a cringe-y, unfunny mess, let’s face it…

But yay! It wasn’t any of those things!

What Andy Samberg is an expert at is poking juuuust enough fun at things. Somehow, he doesn’t cause offence, or create a stir in any way, he just seems to master the art of lovingly criticising everyone.

Popstar‘s premise basically revolves around a mockumentary-style commentary about a member of a boyband (Samberg) who breaks off and starts his own solo career. Doesn’t sound funny when you put it in Lehman’s terms, but I can assure you that this is the most clever, genuinely hilarious comedy movie I’ve seen all year.

As you would expect in a real-life musical documentary, there are so many cameo appearances. Yep, there are a bunch of people in this movie who are genuinely playing a spoof version of themselves and it’s absolute genius. These cameos include, but aren’t limited to: Carrie Underwood, Nas, Usher, 50 Cent, Ringo Starr, Simon Cowell, P!nk, DJ Khaled, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg… The list goes on. How all of these people were convinced to do this movie is a testament to all involved.

On top of that, there’s another long list of actors involved who play fictional characters (Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, Chelsea Perretti to name a few) who all get so into their roles that it’s brilliant. Every single person in this movie is an absolute riot, and I have to give special shout-outs to Mariah Carey and Seal for going above and beyond in this.

This is probably one of the only movies I’ve ever seen that sounds like an utter train wreck on paper yet 100 per cent works in practice. It’s also one of those movies in which if it wasn’t funny, it would probably end Samberg’s chances of ever leading another movie again.

But – spoiler alert – Every. Single. Joke. Lands.

I’m not gonna give this a perfect score. It’s not a perfect movie. But it comes very close to being a perfect comedy.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is another DVD purchase I made recently, so isn’t available as a free stream on any major service. However, you can rent it for a mere £3.49 on the Sky Store.

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