Welcome back to another issue of Your Movie Mage, where I discuss underrated movies across genres. Last week, we discussed the beautifully filmed and heartfelt movie “Little Miss Sunshine.” This week we’ll be talking about a very different genre of movie, a comedic mockumentary starring Andy Samberg called “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.”
This movie was released in 2016 and, despite Samberg being a well-known name, few people talk about this movie. Samberg and the rest of The Lonely Island crew are known for creating funny songs, so it’s bizarre to me that not many people are familiar with this movie.
This film follows “Conner-4-Real,” a superstar known by all who tries to maintain his superstardom, kicked off with his two best friends. The movie takes place after the breakup of their trio, when one stays on as Conner’s DJ and the other moves away to live on a farm.
The film features cameos from various famous artists who poke fun at themselves and others in the industry, including The Lonely Island crew. The characters follow a similar path to the real-life crew, with Samberg as the most famous and recognizable, Jorma Taccone as the next most known and Akiva Schaffer as the least known.
The movie certainly walks the line between absurdism and realism, only a few times slipping into being overly absurd.
What can’t be overstated about this movie is that the hilarious songs are also genuinely good. Many of these make appearances in various playlists of my own, as they are catchy and funny. I’m not typically a huge fan of comedic music (aside from Flight of The Conchords, of course), but they nailed it in this movie. I can’t help but laugh out loud when listening to their songs.
The story itself isn’t wild and insane: It’s straightforward and is, more than anything, a way to allow for funny scenes. The ending is positive, with a nice message, but that’s not exactly why I enjoy watching it.
It seems the marketing for this movie is to blame for why few people have seen this movie. Along with that, a lot of people aren’t drawn in by the premise of a pop music mockumentary, which is fair. I recall when my dad suggested we watch the movie that, despite being a big Samberg fan, I had little interest initially. Of course, now I trust any movie recommendation from him.
This movie tracks with other Samberg films, meaning it has a bit of a cult following, yet didn’t receive much monetary success. Like “Hot Rod,” this movie has a more specific type of humor that perhaps not everyone enjoys, and a less-marketable plot than other movies being released at that time.
“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is a hilarious movie, with some truly great songs in it, and it’s well worth a watch. I give it an underratedness score of 4/5, as it does have a small cult following. It’s not a perfect movie, but it will have you laughing the whole runtime (and after, if you add the songs to your playlist).