MY INCREDIBLE THOUGHTS ON POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING

In Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, we follow the Bieber-esque Connor Friel (AKA Conner4Real...get it? He's played by Andy Samberg) . In his youth, he was a member of a music group his friends and him created called The Style Boyz. Connor's ego got the best of him and he broke apart from the group to pursue a solo career. The other members went seperate paths with Owen (Jorma Taccone) staying with Connor as his DJ and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) moving out to the country to become a farmer. Conner's star seems to be rising until his 2nd album bombs hard, and he scrambles to find a way to stop his sudden fall from grace.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is the first film from musical sensation The Lonely Island, and I can't tell you how much joy it brought me to see the words 'A Lonely Island film' appear on screen in the first few minutes of Popstar. Yes, I've been a fan of the group for quite some time and they bring the same comic sensibilities sampled in their various songs to the big screen. In other words, if you aren't a fan of the group's comedic style, there's a chance you won't like the film. If it wasn't already obvious, I loved the hell out of this film. It's done in mockumentary style (Think This Is Spinal Tap meets Katy Perry: Part of Me meets Justin Bieber: Never Say Never), and so finds a way to spoof the music documentary sub-genre, the entertainment/music industry, popstars, TMZ, big budget concerts, and even Snapchat.

Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer are all great on screen. They are long time friends in real life, and bring that same chemistry to the screen. Samberg plays the well-meaning, lovable buffoon perfectly (It's like the role he was born to play). Taccone is perfect as well as Conner's doofy best friend who only wants to reunite the old group. Schaffer is given significantly less screen time than the other members of Lonely Island, but is still great in his role as the angry, jaded Lawrence who was wronged by Conner in the past and has never gotten over it.

Popstar is filled with cameos from both celebrities and music stars, and to the film's credit the cameos never feel forced or shoe-horned in. They all feel very natural and organic, most are handled like talking heads who appear to comment on Conner's career trajectory and current antics and some are handled like supporting characters. The best ones for my money were Tim Meadows as Harry, Conner's manager, Chris Redd as the Kanye/Tyler The Creator-esque Hunter The Hungry, and Justin Timberlake as Conner's chef (who's character's name I could not find online).

Naturally, this being a Lonely Island film, Popstar is filled with numerous songs. Every single one is laugh out loud funny. The constant jokes also hit more often than they miss (THANK GOD!). Popstar is frequently hilarious, using The Lonely Island's brand of dumb, smart humor to comment on the entertainment industry and pop stardom. It's the rare film that uses dumb humor to say something pretty smart. In fact, I'd dare say the film is actually brilliant. Popstar runs at a swift 86 minutes. I left the theater wanting more (Hopefully they release an extended cut on Blu-Ray).

So, what are the negatives? Well, to be honest.....there aren't a lot. The film does slow down a bit at times and not every joke hits as hard as others although each one is funny enough in it's own right. Popstar is not a perfect film, but it is pretty damned great a large percentage of the time. I can't say if I'll remember most of the jokes from the film a few years down the line, but I am positive that I will remember the film as a whole (It's memorable).

Popstar is a film that certainly won't be to everyone's tastes. Either you like the SNL sketches of late and The Lonely Island's unique brand of humor, or you don't. For myself, I found the film to be extremely funny and quite smart. It's a film that is immensely entertaining and fun while you're watching it, and you can bet I'll be buying the album to hear the full version of the songs in the film (and to listen to the numerous other songs that didn't make the cut). Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping marks a promising debut for The Lonely Island, perfectly showcasing both their smarts and their humor. We need people like Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone and Andy Samberg in the world, people with a unique vision and voice. Let's hope that they decide to continue to make both songs and movies for a long time.

4.5 STARS