Filmmakers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer's mockumentary about the contemporary music scene is an intermittently amusing satire featuring numerous cameos. Expanding on Saturday Night Live shorts, Andy Samberg, Taccone, and Schaffer star as Conner, Owen, and Lawrence, whose hip-hop boy band soared to the top of the charts before the childhood friends had a falling out. Now, Conner is a solo star calling himself Conner4Real, while Owen has been relegated to being his onstage DJ, and Lawrence has retreated to a Colorado farm. The slender plot is a familiar rise-and-fall tale: Conner's second album bombs, sending his career into a tailspin as ill-advised marketing deals make him even more unpopular, and his bumptious attempt at a socially-relevant single earns him nothing but scorn. Adding an ambitious rapper as an opening act for his tour backfires when the guy becomes more popular than Conner, and a disastrous 'wardrobe malfunction' makes him an international laughingstock. Conner's only hope for a comeback lies in reconciling with his old band mates, but the bad blood between them makes that seem unlikely. Popstar plays more like a series of sketches than a movie, but it does have a good-natured attitude and sports some decent gags and lines. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by costars and co-filmmakers Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, deleted scenes (44 min.), six music videos (15 min.), bonus footage (9 min.), interview outtakes (7 min.), a 'Fun at CMZ!' spoof (6 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), brief segments on 'Big Boy Freestyle' (2 min.) and 'How to Donkey Roll,' four brief cut segments, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD, digital, and UltraViolet copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven but often funny film.] (F. Swietek) [Blu-ray Review—Nov. 5, 2019—Shout! Factory, 87 min., R, Blu-ray: $29.99—Making its latest appearance on Blu-ray, 2016’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. This new release is packaged in a limited edition steelbook with extras that are identical to the previous release, including audio commentary by costars and co-filmmakers Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, deleted scenes (44 min.), six music videos (15 min.), bonus footage (9 min.), interview outtakes (7 min.), a 'Fun at CMZ!' spoof (6 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), brief segments on 'Big Boy Freestyle' (2 min.) and 'How to Donkey Roll,' as well as four brief cut segments. Bottom line: if you own the earlier Blu-ray release, you don’t need this one, which is identical—aside from the packaging.]
Check out our list of more modern musicals