Every aspect of Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping feels calculated and constructed for success. The structure of the film is largely borrowed from Rob Reiner/Christopher Guest’s classic mock-rockumentary, This is Spinal Tap, with a bit of VH1’s “Behind the Band” to update the format for younger audiences. It also updates the subject, switching from the fading hair bands in the 1980s to an indictment of pop/hip-hop stars of today, primarily focusing on a character very obviously based on Justin Bieber. While the jokes are consistently funny for at least two-thirds of the film and the music parodies created by The Lonely Island are at least as successful as the work they have done for “Saturday Night Live” over the years, something about Popstar feels a bit too safe. Even a scene of graphic male nudity (thanks to a contribution from producer Judd Apatow, who takes his efforts to use male genitals in a majority of his film one step further by offering his own for this gag) can’t save this film from being less shocking than reality itself. Anyone who has read about the spoiled-brat behavior of Bieber over the years or follows the narcissistic ramblings of Kanye West’s twitter feed will realize that real life is far more absurd than anything offered in Popstar.
