When we first heard there was going to be a Lonely Island movie, we were overjoyed. Then, we saw it. The thing about Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is it really and truly is not a Lonely Island movie, it is a movie from the Lonely Island guys that focuses on Andy Samberg’s Conner Friel (aka Connor 4 Real) and his solo career that was sky-high as the film begins and starts to crack apart at the foundation upon the release of his second CD.
The film then becomes a Lonely Island movie, and with it our hopes that a follow-up film will be a true-to-form-satirical look at the SNL-digital-shorts-born band that also features Akiva Schaffer (as Lawrence) and Jorma Taccone (as Owen).
In Popstar, Conner and his two BFFs are in a band called the Style Boyz, who become huge, due to their dance hall hit “Donkey Roll.” Conner gets too big for his britches, the band breaks up, he goes solo and the rest is history in our Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping world.
The film is out now on DVD, Digital Download and Blu-Ray and it is hardly a surprise that it contains a bevy of bonus features that are sure to make fans of The Lonely Island beyond thrilled and tickled pick with hilarity. As we stated in our theatrical Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping review, we absolutely adored this flick. Many critics didn’t quite understand or get the humor or this world that Samberg, Schaffer and Taccone had created or the concept simply went over their heads. For The Movie Mensch, this is parody and humor at its highest level of achievement. Samberg and his buddies bring their A-game and do not disappoint.
The thing is, we think it was a stroke of genius to set this film apart from the work they do as the band The Lonely Island. This is a film from The Lonely Island and there is an enormous difference. Like bands have the concept album, this is a concept film… from a band! Get it?!
The performances throughout are topnotch and there are twists and turns that will have you guessing how this film will unfold before the closing credits. And then there are the songs. The lyrics are so unapologetically offensive, perverse and over-the-top, and exactly what we would come to expect from the guys who gave us I’m on a Boat and Jizz on my Pants.
As is the case with most profoundly smart comedies, the bonus features delve deep and also deliver even more LOL moments.
It is rare that we take a look at the audio commentary track first in our review of a DVD or Blu-Ray’s release. But with Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, it’s a plethora of insight that cannot be missed and will be incredibly rewarding for Lonely Island fans to listen to Schaffer, Taccone and Samberg wax poetic about their film. It is especially enjoyable when the three longtime friends go off topic and crack jokes that literally crack each other up. It is a commentary track that is perfectly fit for the film itself. The tone is congruent and so often, audio commentary track participators forget to keep the narrative tone similar to the film itself.
There are a brilliant 43-minute-plus group of deleted scenes that had to be cut, clearly, for time and story-relevance. Because upon watching them, we cannot understand what reason could be given for removing these fall-out-of-your-chair-laughing scenes from making the final cut. With scene titles such as Bee Attack #2, Eat Soup, Quinceanera and Album Release Party… these are moments that must be seen. Since they didn’t make the film itself, one has to get this DVD and Blu-Ray to cherish these comedic moments of brilliance.
If the music makes you laugh, which for us was the most hysterical aspect of the entire movie, you will immediately went to head off and watch all the music videos that are included in this home video set. We get Mona Lisa, Bin Laden, F*** Off, Legalize It, Equal Rights and of course, I’m a Weirdo. Don’t. Miss. These. Vids!
The ridiculousness of the world of pop music is so skewered throughout the film itself, but it takes a special beating in How to Donkey Roll, which looks at The Style Boyz and takes the viewer inside their dance craze that made these fictional fame whores famous.
Another brilliant addition is Interview Outtakes, an almost seven-minute set of interviews with characters from the film, extolling the joys and perils of Conner.
One of the absolutely nuts, fall over funny, parts of the film is the parody show within the movie CMZ! Clearly, it’s a take on TMZ and its wickedly successful celebrity gossip evening show. The bonus features Fun at CMZ! follows the show as it illustrates some of Conner’s biggest career pitfalls. Just like the Blu-Ray and DVD itself, don’t miss it.
Movie Grade: A
Bonus Features: A