Popstar: Never stop never stopping

[Sng]

Surprised at how badly this has done. Barely seen it mentioned anywhere. 

 

It's bloody funny though. A lot of laugh out loud moments.

 

Definitely watch it if you like Adam Samberg or SNL stuff. 

 

Great album too. 

[DarhkFox]

Yeah i've seen it a couple of times. It's not bad at all, pretty funny. The songs are decent, it's a shame there were not more music videos in it though. The video to fuck me like you fucked binladen is pretty great.

[Goose]

It's great - I reviewed it in the movie blog thread.

 

Final track is really good and I like how it all came together. Didn't seem to play well in US, perhaps not realising it's a spoof.

 

Edit: From that thread 

Quote

 

I had no idea who Lonely Island were (or are) but I got the impression it was a comedy trio headed by Adam Samberg. This is their first movie, in which the three act/write/direct. It's a spoof documentary about rapper Conner4real, played by Samberg. As the film starts, we get a brief history of the rapper - the group he used to belong which imploded just after they hit the big time, and Conner's subsequent solo success. We're then shown the situation just before Conner's second album debuts. His ego has run wild and he's surrounded by yes men. 

 

In between all this are talking head interviews with real rappers/stars/etc talking about how influential the group were and such like. There's also turns from Sarah Silverman (playing it very straight and normal) as the band's publicist and Joan Cusack as Conner's groupie mom (I think she features in the movie for a whole 60 seconds). A subplot features an up and coming rapper who gets the open slot on the tour.

 

The spoof tracks are actually pretty good and Conner is a pretty solid creation. The inclusion of the real people interviews adds something to it as well. In the US it flopped pretty hard but it's in no way a terrible movie. I found it pretty entertaining for a Saturday night and there's a few good laughs in there - more so when the character keeps trying to find ways to get back into the spotlight. If you like the music, you might even find more in it (the final performance and guest star is very good)

 

By the end it's even bizarrely touching as Conner starts to realise what he's done and tries to turn it around. Samberg plays it well, because the character should be a complete asshole, and at times he is, but he manages to make him likeable at the same time. 

 

With a runtime of 1h 22m, it doesn't outstay its welcome, though you can imagine they had hours and hours of footage, so credit to them for keeping the movie fairly tight. 

 

 

[Andy_Why]

I've been really looking forward to it. Just realised that it was released today!

[Opinionated Ham Scarecrow]

Love Lonely Island and thought this was amazing.

 

The problem it has is a stupid title that makes it sound like a Disney film aimed at 8-12 year olds.

[Orion]

Not sure it lives up to the heights of Hot Rod but its very good. I did find the songs abit lacking though as a Lonely Island fan. The gay marriage song with Pink was a highlight the rest fell abit flat.

 

It breaks my heart it flopped as these guys are very funny and deserve more. I'm sure it will become a cult hit though.

[kerraig UK]

Very few comedies manage to scale the heights of Hot Rod. This was a great 90 mins entertainment. Not quite up there with Spinal Tap, but pretty great

[gone fishin]

Hot Rod is brilliant genius. As is Baby Brent in Cloudy with a Chance Of Meatballs.

 

 

[JohnC]

I'd seen Hot Rod in video shops, but wasn't sure if it was good or shite, with a seemingly high risk of the latter. I see it's on Netflix, so I'll have to give it a go.

[DarhkFox]

19 minutes ago, JohnC said:

I'd seen Hot Rod in video shops, but wasn't sure if it was good or shite, with a seemingly high risk of the latter. I see it's on Netflix, so I'll have to give it a go.

 

It's worth a watch. It's kinda random funny. Plus Isla Fisher is in it 

[Paulando]

Saw this last night, and thought it was very good! Funny throughout, and the songs were excellent.

 

The title is awful though, and I have no doubt it's one of the reasons it hasn't been more successful. I'd brushed it off as a straight faced High School Musical/Step Up-type film, when of course, it's anything but.

[Andy_Why]

Watched this yesterday. I enjoyed it, but it felt a bit disjointed. Some properly funny bits though and the songs were amazing.  What disappointed me most of all was how much they wasted some of the guest stars. Basically the entirety of Bill Hader's role was in the trailer! I think I would have liked another 20 minutes or so focusing on these folks.

[Yobo Ahoy]

I hadn't heard of it until I saw Goose's aforementioned post in the MWB thread a couple months back. Actually properly loved it, really funny. 

 

Has it really only just been released in the UK? That's awful. Feel bad for watching it online now it's not done so well, but that's a hell of a delay.

[shirubagan]

Watched this la few days ago and can't stop listening to Equal Rights. Such an amazing song. Really funny movie, loved it. 

 

I will have to give Hot Rod another go as maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I watched it when it was released. 

[Bleeders]

I've watched this a few times over the last week since it's on Sky at the moment; really bloody funny and the spoof songs are great.

 

Had the OST on Spotify this morning and can't get that 'Patrick. Stewart. Money' line out of my head or perhaps that classic, 'Mona Lisa, you're an over-rated piece of shit'.  

[Comrade]

Yeah, it's really sad that this was apparently a colossal flop.

[DarhkFox]

On 10/21/2016 at 18:13, shirubagan said:

Watched this la few days ago and can't stop listening to Equal Rights. Such an amazing song. Really funny movie, loved it. 

 

I will have to give Hot Rod another go as maybe I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I watched it when it was released. 

 

The first time i watched hot rod i didn't go too much on it, but the second time it wasn't bad at all. Shame popstar bombed, it's a pretty good film. Not enough music videos for my liking but the ones that made it were pretty good.

 

[linkster]

Showing Film4 on the 18th

[Ork1927]

This in on Amazon Prime after, I think, being missing from streaming sites for a while.

 

It remains brilliantly funny although now I've going to have the bloody Bin Laden song stuck in my head and have to self censor when I start singing it round the house.

[K]

I randomly watched this on Saturday, and thought it was life-affirmingly hilarious. The tone of it seemed to be pitched exactly right, in that Conner remained pretty likeable throughout despite being a complete idiot, the stakes were extremely low, and there was just this general good-natured air to the film. Even Conner's tortoise becoming terminally ill was pretty funny.

 

The songs were all fantastic, especially 'Mona Lisa' and 'Legalise It' (from the credits). The single funniest bit were the two talking head sections with RZA, who despite being in the film for a total of about ten seconds has some of the funniest intonation and timing I've ever seen. This bit, about 40 seconds into this clip made me absolutely piss myself laughing:

 

 

I was surprised to see Jay from the Inbetweeners in the cast, and can only assume he was unable to improvise anything funny as he was barely in it.

[Gabe]

I watched this recently and thought it was brilliant. I loved that whilst Connor is an idiot, he's not a complete idiot to the point of being annoying and oblivious to everything around him.

 

Instead, he lacks some awareness but isn't a buffoon. It made him much more human and endearing, versus, say latter-day Homer Simpson (I haven't watched The Simpson for about 25 years, but that's the consensus on him, right?)

 

I do like Andy Samburg though, I rewatched Hot Rod the other night and enjoyed that too. Even That's My Boy is better for him being in it.

 

Edit: Just reading the rest of the thread and I didn't realise Hot Rod was so well liked - I thought it was decent but I didn't love it, and this is much funnier.

[Goose]

Such a great movie, I've come to like it more and more over time. 

[glb]

So happy people are finding this; was criminally overlooked when it came out. Easily one of the best comedies of recent years.

 

’I’m So Humble’ is a genuine banger too.

[Art Vandelay]

I had always assumed Lorne Michaels was something to do with this like Hot Rod but apparently not. It certainly feels like it fits into his ouvre of films that get lukewarm reviews, lose their arse and are universally adored at least ten years too late. 
 

The Bash Brothers Experience or whatever it’s called is absolutely brilliant too if anyones desperate for more of this kind of thing. That felt like an attempt to waste as much of someone else’s money as possible as it’s the most ridiculously lavish treatment imaginable for such a wilfully obtuse subject matter. 

[Made of Ghosts]

I listen to the soundtrack on a regular basis, it’s wall-to-wall top choons tbqh. I think I know the entire “catchphrase verse” without ever making an effort to learn it. Sorry DAD.

[K]

12 hours ago, Art Vandelay said:

I had always assumed Lorne Michaels was something to do with this like Hot Rod but apparently not. It certainly feels like it fits into his ouvre of films that get lukewarm reviews, lose their arse and are universally adored at least ten years too late. 
 

The Bash Brothers Experience or whatever it’s called is absolutely brilliant too if anyones desperate for more of this kind of thing. That felt like an attempt to waste as much of someone else’s money as possible as it’s the most ridiculously lavish treatment imaginable for such a wilfully obtuse subject matter. 

 

Is the Bash Brothers thing any good if you have absolutely no idea who either of them are, and also know nothing about baseball in general? I'm tempted to watch it, but I suspect it'd be like me watching a series about cricket or kabaddi or something.

[Art Vandelay]

2 hours ago, K said:

Is the Bash Brothers thing any good if you have absolutely no idea who either of them are, and also know nothing about baseball in general? I'm tempted to watch it, but I suspect it'd be like me watching a series about cricket or kabaddi or something.

 

I have zero knowledge of baseball beyond what has seeped into wider culture – presumably through very bald English men wearing caps and that one Simpsons episode – and it didn't impede my enjoyment of it. I think it's only half an hour or so, and it's really more like a visual albums than anything more substantial. As I say, it really looks like they spent some budget on it as it's so well done it's worth a watch for the spectacle alone. 

[Festoon]

I just remembered "Mona Lisa: You're a overrated piece of shit" in a supermarket and started laughing out loud.

[jonamok]

Just watched this thanks to this thread and loved it. Amazing cameos, a very funny script, and a great cast.

 

Just one question, right at the end when Conner is talking to camera with his new tortoise, who/what is it that runs into him and takes him down? Guessing it was a wolf, but couldn’t make it out.

[Bleeders]

“Fuckin’ Wolves”

 

I’m glad others are finding this, first film I recommend to people who remark that they love B99.

 

Every time I see Patrick Stewart pop up anywhere on TV, that “Patrick Stewart Money” line pops in my head.

 

”Incredible Thoughts” was a banger as the kids say these days.