Directed by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone
Written by Andy Samberg & Akiva Schaffer & Jorma Taccone
Cast: Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, Tim Meadows, Bill Hader, Imogen Poots, Sarah Silverman, Maya Rudolph, Will Arnett, Chris Redd, Ithamar Enriquez
Soundtrack: The Lonely Island
Whether you’re familiar with them by name or not, you probably know The Lonely Island. From “Lazy Sunday” to “I’m on a Boat” to their first feature film, ‘Hot Rod‘ (which, like many classic comedy films, was under-appreciated at the time of its release), the trio of Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone has left an indelible impact on comedy and pop culture at large.
With ‘POPSTAR’, The Lonely Island brings their own twist to the mockumentary sub-genre, no doubt inspired by the recent wave of tour docs from the likes of Katy Perry, One Direction, and, especially, Justin Bieber. You could say ‘POPSTAR’ is the ‘Spinal Tap‘ of the 21st Century, although I don’t think the boys ever intended on the same level of verisimilitude as Rob Reiner and Christopher Guest, as there are moments where their absurditst tendencies shine through, similar to ‘Hot Rod’.
Unlike ‘Hot Rod’, however, ‘POPSTAR’ is no PG-13 affair. On the contrary, the movie does everything in its power to earn that R rating, from language to various sorts of nudity, including [possibly] Judd Apatow’s penis; and yet, somehow it doesn’t feel quite as dirty as the average raunch-com (Apatow-produced or otherwise), perhaps because the movie is genuinely funny. And I do mean really funny.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, my standard for comedies is whether or not they make me laugh, and, in that regard, ‘POPSTAR’ succeeds. There are great comedic performances everywhere, obviously from Samberg, Schaffer, and Taccone, and other SNL alums like Tim Meadows and Bill Hader, but also from Sarah Silverman, who I normally find to be grating, and especially from Will Arnett, who has a recurring cameo as a Harvey Levin knock-off.
If I have one particular criticism, it’s that the many celebrity cameos, largely done in interview format, could have been played a little more deadpan to give that aspect of the movie more believability, but I understand that most of these people aren’t trained actors, so it’s somewhat forgivable.
Even if you don’t think you’re hip enough to understand everything ‘POPSTAR’ is satirizing, it’s still hilarious on many levels. and there are so many wonderful surprises that I can’t help but recommend it. Go see it if you’re up for a good laugh (although not before you go see ‘The Nice Guys‘, jerkwad).
Rating: ★★★★☆