Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) Film Review

When it comes to the output of popular American series Saturday Night Live, there's usually a mixed level of quality when it comes to expansion. Whilst a comedy classic came out in the form of Wayne's World and plenty of stars have moved into the limelight (more recently Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones with Ghostbusters), it's also lead to the likes of It's Pat and the downfall of Dana Carvey (Master of Disguise). But one particular hit team is that which makes up viral sensation The Lonely Island. Consisting of Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, the musical trio and their amusing tunes have led them to countless hits on YouTube and a trilogy of albums, and their high levels of success have not only led to plenty of projects for Samberg (right now winning people over with Brooklyn Nine-Nine) but plenty of attention for the other members, and now a feature film – unless you consider the critically-mixed Hot Rod – that highlights their strongest aspect. And with a This is Spinal Tap approach and a large cast of comedians that range from Sarah Silverman to Will Forte, one can only assume great things... if you forget the fact that the film has earned practically nothing at the box office despite high hopes. But can that detract expectations? 

Shot in the style of a mockumentary and acting as a pastiche of the likes of Justin Bieber and One Direction, an unnamed batch of filmmakers are tasked with following hot-shot artist Conner4Real (Samberg) – previously a member of boy band The Style Boyz with current DJ Owen and social recluse Lawrence (Taccone and Schaffer) – as the release of his hotly-anticipated second album, titled 'Connquest', meets "mixed" reviews and his worldwide tour gets hit by countless news stories. With 32 different people on his personal payroll and countless more pushing him forward, Conner must do anything that it takes to stay in the spotlight for the right reasons, ranging from botched engagement attempts to a stage gimmick gone horribly wrong, and prove that he's much more than a Style Boy gone solo – despite the public begging him for a return. 

Taking the situation comedy approach to the material at hand (the mockumentary formula working incredibly well for them), Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a film that doesn't take many chances in its story-telling, and at times can come across as predictable, but it's easily a film that works at amusing and entertaining its audience. You enjoy seeing the hilarious antics Conner and company inexplicably partake in and how they attempt to fix the public's spotlight on the situations at hand, and at the same time you marvel at just how many big-name cameos they managed to worm into it all. And as for the comedy, this is certainly a hilarious picture; quickly earning some big laughs and some moments (whether they be just from seeing the stars or from the many scenarios at hand) creating arguably the biggest laughs all year. The bigger set pieces don't quite hit as big as the filmmakers obviously expect them to, but that doesn't stop them from still being funny, let alone the rest of the film.

In the lead role of Conner4Real, Andy Samberg easily manages to blend into the role he's playing. It's hardly a new role for him (a constant portrayer of the less-intelligent types), but it's difficult to criticise a role that he's obviously well-suited for. Jorma Taccone makes for an appeasing best friend with a so-so side story, but the dynamic between the two remains a strong reason for checking this out. Fellow Lonely Islander Akiva Schaffer as a desolate soul in the middle of nowhere adds some big laughs whenever we drift away from the main course of action; Sarah Silverman as Conner's publicist repeats her usual prowess; Tim Meadows as his manager and former band member of "Tony! Toni! Toné! Tonee?" earns some big laughs and blends into his role easily; Imogen Poots serves her purpose well as Conner's actor girlfriend; James Buckley is thankfully tolerable as an entourage member; Chris Redd as fellow musician and concert opener Hunter the Hungry makes for a great (possibly mentally unhinged) character; Will Arnett and his TMZ parody works as far as one can expect; Joan Cusack is criminally underused as the lead star's mother; whilst the likes of Bill Hader, Will Forte, and Maya Rudolph come across as mere cameos – although nowhere near as big as that of the likes of other singers and music producers. 

With Schaffer and Taccone also taking on the directing duties (not new to doing so, having directed The Watch and MacGruber respectively), they easily ape the documentary style with true finesse; truly making the modernised This is Spinal Tap look as great as possible whilst elevating the strength of each and every gag. Praise also has to go to some of the motion graphics and visual effects given to the likes of TV spots and holograms, but out of all the production elements, the music comes out on top. There's a reason that The Lonely Island crew are so beloved, and that's because of their excellence – no matter who it's for, each song is hilarious and remains an earworm until the next one comes rolling in. Even if a film wasn't attached to them, each song would likely be remembered fondly by the online community in the same vein as some of their most popular tunes.

Well, I'll be blown. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is quite possibly going to be one of the biggest surprises of the year; consistently funny and with a strong cast of characters fictional or not, this music mockumentary acts as the perfect pastiche for just how strange and stupid the modern music industry and its participants are. It likely won't get a long run in the UK, so I implore you to catch it if you can: the straight-up comedy that actually made me laugh a lot. 8/10.

Sausage Party (2016) Film Review

The land of the crude animated movie is hardly one that's new to the Hollywood industry. From big-screen versions of the likes of South Park and Aqua Teen Hunger Force to original fare Akira and Anomalisa, it's nothing outright special as, say, a modern R-rated superhero movie (Deadpool), but with Sausage Party – the latest project from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, This is the End) – all eyes have been thrust forward to what they're bringing to the metaphorical dinner table. For you see, they've brought about an animated project that, if not for the overt swearing and sexual references, would fit right in with the likes of Pixar and Illumination Entertainment; complete with the Toy Story premise of "what if ____ were alive?" that's lead to The Secret Life of Pets earning big bucks in the family market. But made for a cheap $19m (perhaps due to the unpaid animators who have since made attempts of fighting back) and with a cavalcade of comedic actors – including Edward Norton of all people – taking part, can these vulgar products muster up a good meal? 

Independence Day is right around the corner, and for the inhabitants of a Shopwell's supermarket, it means one thing: a large possibility of being chosen to go on to "The Great Beyond". Every morning, the products sing about being chosen and how great it’ll be to be free, and pray that they get picked by the Gods before they're chosen to be thrown away. At one point, it appears that hot dog couple Frank the Sausage and Brenda the Bun (Rogen and Kristen Wiig) will finally be free to carry out their urges, but when a replaced jar of Honey Mustard (Danny McBride) tries to reveal all and commit suicide, it leads to the couple – alongside a Middle Eastern lavash (David Krumholtz) and a Jewish bagel (Norton) – falling out of the trolley and at risk of being thrown away. Coming to the conclusion that they just have to go back to their aisles and be re-packaged, the group must search through the store to find their homes; avoiding the vengeful Douche (a female hygiene product voiced by Nick Kroll), making allies in the form of a taco shell (Selma Hayek), and finding out the horrible truth about the Gods and everything they believed in... 

Taking on the adventure formula from countless animated movies before it and creating an interesting twist to the mix, the basic story isn't one all too captivating because, until the final act, it comes across as something safe. Granted, the whole ordeal with rude language makes it stand out from its contemporaries, but the journey is hardly an appealing one despite some creative – if a tad racially insensitive – detours. Perhaps what makes the whole thing a little harder to grasp is the linear principles of the universe and how the food moves around in human eyes (a singular moment involving baby carrots offers some insight, but not so much for the runaway sausages in the same scene), but at least that shows some improvement by the time act two begins to wrap up thanks to some imaginative reasonings. Likewise, the third act is truly where things take an interesting turn with a giant climatic fight (think a much better version of the infamous Foodfight!) and a set piece that brings about a whole new definition to the term "food porn"; by which point one is fully taken in by this madcap universe.

 As far as the jokes are concerned, it's better than usual for the modern landscape. A lot of the film's humour tends to rely on just the idea of these cartoons speaking in profanities or with the overt racial themes (which there are a lot of), and there's a running gag about foods turning up when they're mentioned ("You're the apple of my eye", etc.), but those aren't enough to truly make a funny movie. Thankfully, there's still a little more to it, with the standard Goldberg/Rogen staples of getting high – using a kazoo of all things – and actual funny moments revolving around the scenes in question. Again, this truly thrives when the third act begins to simmer and new characters get introduced. So while there's still all the basic conventions that you'd expect from the trailers and basic premise, as well as for the comedy genre as a whole these days, there is still some form of fun to be had for even the harshest of people.

As the leading wiener, Frank is a bit plain a character. It's obvious that Seth Rogen has an attachment to the character, and it shows in his vocal performance, but there's no real depth to him. As soon as he catches wind of a secret truth, he's suddenly possessed to find out more, and when he inevitably does he hardly makes for a resounding leader for the rebellion. That said, as a character he really bounces off of Wiig's buns and fellow banger Michael Cera, and there's still a likeable feel to him despite the ineptitude of his persona. Kristen Wiig is well done as Brenda despite being seen as nothing more than an object by most; Edward Norton as a Woody Allen-like bagel does lead to some funny moments (especially when teamed against David Krumholtz's cantankerous stereotype, also done well); Nick Kroll as the villainous Douche feels a tad unnecessary for the whole procedure but at least acts as an okay bad guy; Selma Hayek's lesbian taco adds some humour to mix, not to mention a well-needed additional female voice to it all; Cera as a slightly deformed sausage makes for a good lead for the B-plot (joined by fellow frankfurters Jonah Hill and Anders Holm), in which the likes of a junkie James Franco and a Stephen Hawking incarnation of a piece of gum (Scott Underwood); all whilst the likes of Paul Rudd, Bill Hader and Craig Robinson have bit roles which play out accordingly.

With the animation, it’s a trickier thing to really delve into, as the ongoing controversy and the low production costs have a hand in what we ultimately see on the big screen; the whole thing does look a tad cheap, but with a $19m budget that likely went mostly towards the all-star cast it makes complete sense. The character designs are very basic on the food products, with some inspiration coming in from the classic Disney characters (gloved hands and all) whilst attempting to replicate the polish of, say, an older Dreamworks or Illumination Entertainment production. There are a couple of instances involving matte-painted backdrops, but the world around these foods still looks visually stunning despite flashbacks to the similar Foodfight!. As for the humans, it's obvious that a lot less effort went into them, as it seems that exaggerated features was a keynote given to each and every one of them, but especially the women. But at least the animation is good for what it is, and with directing duo Conrad Vernon (Shrek 2; Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted) & Greg Tiernan at the helm, it makes the whole film look good enough.

Sausage Party is hardly the revolutionary comedy that many are claiming it to be, but it is better than a number of them are these days. With a strong selection of actors voicing these characters and a fine premise to warrant such an approach, it perhaps would have been stronger if it could have been more imaginative for the first two acts with both its story and humour; that way one wouldn't need to keep seeing how long was left before the film was nearly over. 6/10.