Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping | The Lonely Island crew spoof pop pretensions

By
( )
published
Popstar Never Stop Never Stopping Andy Samberg
(Image credit: © 2016 Universal Studios. All R)

Viral video stars Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, aka comedy trio The Lonely Island, seek to extend their repertoire of pop music parodies with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, a hip-hop mockumentary about a big-headed rapper called Conner4real (played by Samberg) whose life and career go off the rails after he ditches his childhood friends/band-mates (Schaffer and Taccone) to go solo.

The movie falls a long way short of the pitch-perfect satire and comic brilliance of This Is Spinal Tap but has its fair share of decent gags – and more than its fair share of celebrity cameos. Appearing as themselves, Seal, Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr all get in on the act, but Justin Timberlake has the most fun, playing the rapper’s personal chef.

Certificate 15. Runtime 87 mins. Directors Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping debuts on Sky Cinema Premiere on Friday 14 July. Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Universal Pictures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9RoNzJrmDo

CATEGORIES
Jason Best
Jason Best

A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.