POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING [BLU-RAY] (2016)




SYNOPSIS: After a two-year, sold-out, worldwide tour, Conner4Real (Andy Samberg) is the biggest name in music. Go behind the scenes as Conner faces a crisis of popularity after his sophomore album flops, leaving fans, sycophants and rivals all wondering what to do when Conner4Real is no longer the dopest star of all. The hilarious comedy from digital short superstars, The Lonely Island, and blockbuster producer Judd Apatow (Trainwreck, Superbad, Knocked Up), is loaded with cameos from the biggest names in comedy and music.

MOVIE REVIEW:

“Ever since I was born, I was DOPE” – Connor4Real

Former Style Boyz’s member, Connor is about to release his second solo album after the major success of his first. Eschewing his usual writing partner and longtime friend, Owen (Jorma Taccone), man-child Connor is facing a career crisis when his album tanked in sales while a young rapper Hunter (Chris Reed) is fast overtaking him in terms of popularity. When a marriage and a stage antic went awry, it’s time for Connor to reevaluate his friendship and those who really care about him. 

Popstar is a mockumentary targeting the current state of pop music culture and stardom. It’s not clever satire for sure but contains enough jokes and one-liners to briefly entertain. The sketches on the whole range from mildly ticklish (a marriage proposal that ended up terrorized by wolves) to outrageously funny (a wardrobe malfunction). There’s never a politically correct joke here just stuff that is inspired by real-life celebrities scenarios, think Bieber and Kanye.

The extremely catchy music and songs with crazy lyrics while not karaoke friendly will stick to your ears like worms. It’s not all about vulgarities and parody, the story tries to tell another side of the egoistic Connor when he attempts to mend fences with Lawrence, the talented songwriter turned farmer. And as you would have predicted it, you are going to have a Style Boyz reunion for the finale.

The movie is crammed with celebrity cameos and you have people liked Emma Stone, Seal, 50 Cent, RZA, Ringo Starr, Mariah Carey, Simon Cowell appearing and Justin Timberlake as Connor’s personal chef and lots and lots more others. Obviously this is a fun, tongue-in-cheek picture that clearly has the balls to poke fun at celebrity culture. The production values are surprisingly well executed for a raunchy comedy.

As the leading man here, Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine Nine) has never been funnier. His performance is spot-on as the painfully naïve Connor. The supporting cast which includes Sarah Silverman as Connor’s no-nonsense publicist and Tim Meadows as his manager makes it even more terrific. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping while not comedy gold is still worth a look among those commercial releases that never make it to our shore.   

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Check out a whopping 43 minutes worth of Deleted Scenes.

Yup here’s six Conner4Real Music Videos including Bin Laden and Legalize It.

3 minutes of cast fumbling their lines in Gag Reel

Interview Outtakes has characters talking about Connor

Additional deleted and extended scenes in Bonus Footage.

The Style Boyz shows you How to Donkey Roll.

Connor raps on radio in Big Boy Freestyle.

Frog J**z is basically a deleted scene which has Lawrence talking about frog semen.

Shooting Hoops shows you how bad a basketball player Connor is

"Turn Up the Beef" Backstory talks about the theme song from Friends

A brief look at Connor’s supposedly leaked Sex Tape.

Fun at CMZ! is a fake gossip show that goes crazy over Connor’s failures

It’s an enjoyable listening experience with Audio Commentary: With Directors/Co-Writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone and Co-Writer Andy Samberg. Prepare yourself for more fun and gags from The Lonely Island.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Popstar looks fantastic on bluray. Colors are vibrant, blacks are deep and skintones is solid. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is clear and immersive. All of the concert sequences boast excellent strong bass. For a comedy, the audio and visual is top notch. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee



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 ABOUT THE MOVIE

Genre: Comedy
Director: 
Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Maya Rudolph, Joan Cusack, Imogen Poots, James Buckley

Year Made: 2016

 SPECIAL FEATURES

Deleted Scenes
- Music Videos
- Gag Reel
- Interview Outtakes
- Extended Scenes
- Bonus Footage
- How to Donkey Roll
- Big Boy Freestyle
- Frog J**z
- Shooting Hoops
- "Turn Up the Beef" Backstory
- Sex Tape
- Fun at CMZ!
- Audio Commentary: With Directors/Co-Writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone and Co-Writer Andy Samberg

 

 

 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Languages: English/Espanol/French
Subtitles: English/
Espanol/French
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Sound: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Running Time: 1 hr 27 mins
Region Code: 1