The Lonely Island Delivers Raunchy, Satirical New Hits in Pop Music Mockumentary ‘Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping’

Allyson Gronowitz

“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is not an original concept, which, of course, is the whole point. Written by The Lonely Island comedy trio Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone (who all co-star) and produced by Judd Apatow, “Popstar” takes satirical aim at recent music documentaries like Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” and Katy Perry’s “Part of Me.” Fans of the absurdist shenanigans of “Saturday Night Live’s” The Lonely Island will be thrilled with the feature-length result.

The “Popstar” mockumentary follows singer/rapper Conner4Real (Samberg) after the release of his second solo album. When the album receives scathing reviews, Conner begins to question just how “dope” he really is. Fortunately, his crew is on hand to support him through his trying journey.

The film begins, as do many bio-docs, with nostalgic home footage from the subject’s childhood. One clip shows Conner as an infant knocking out an insanely complicated drumbeat and another showcases some too-cutesy-to-be-candid shots of Conner hanging with his buddies and former Style Boyz bandmates, Owen (Taccone) and Lawrence (Schaffer). After a very public falling out during a Style Boyz performance, Lawrence moves to Colorado to become a sad sack, heavily bearded farmer with a vague interest in wood carving, and Conner morphs into solo sensation Conner4Real with Owen tagging along as his DJ.

The comedy in “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is easily accessible from the Justin Bieber roast implied by the title and evoked by Conner’s entire appearance to the inanity of Conner4Real’s lyrics. There are gratuitous nudity and “social justice” tunes such as “Equal Rights” in which Conner advocates for legalizing gay marriage while hastily throwing in lyrics such as “not gay,” “sports” and “hot wings” to affirm that he is decidedly straight. (Meanwhile, a bemused Ringo Starr gets onscreen to point out that gay marriage is actually already legal.)

Given The Lonely Island’s history of viral hip-hop sketches like “I’m on a Boat” and the Emmy-winning “Dick In a Box,” it’s clear that this film will succeed on the comedic strength of its songs. Indeed, the catchy, ironically pompous “I’m So Humble,” (featuring a holographic Adam Levine from Maroon 5) and the deliciously crude “Finest Girl (Bin Laden Song),” both released prior to the movie, are set to become classic Lonely Island staples. But “Popstar” also pulls out all the stops when it comes to celebrity cameos, many of whom appear as talking heads. Music icons Carrie Underwood, Usher, Questlove, Simon Cowell and the aforementioned Ringo Starr deliver fun soundbites to the camera while Maya Rudolph, in a brief but memorable scene, steals the show as a corporate sponsor representative.

Like recent mockumentaries “7 Days in Hell,” an HBO movie starring Samberg and the surprisingly funny “Game of Thrones” actor Kit Harington, and IFC’s critically beloved TV series “Documentary Now!,” “Popstar” has a smartly subversive script as well. A running joke centers around Conner’s constantly derided cook being portrayed by Justin Timberlake who is arguably the most famous boy-band-to-solo-star artist performing today. Conner’s girlfriend Ashley (Imogen Poots), a celebrity-obsessed celebrity with a shifting European accent, is the perfect encapsulation of vacuous fame. And publicist Paula (Sarah Silverman) puts on an earnest, PR pro expression while blithely saying all the wrong things. “Popstar,” on the other hand, knows how to push all the right buttons.

“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” hits theaters June 3.