A Star-Studded Andy Samberg Movie Is Getting A Second Chance On Streaming
Andy Samberg's star-studded Popstar: Never Stop Popping is top 10 on HBO Max.
This article is more than 2 years old
Just like his character in the film, Andy Samberg’s mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Popping is getting another chance at fame. The film is currently in the top ten streaming chart for HBO Max, so now is a good time to check it out with the rest of the world if you missed it the first time. Despite its weak box office performance, it’s actually a comedy that was pretty well-received by those who actually saw it.
Popstar: Never Stop Popping follows Andy Samberg’s pop star and rapper Conner4real after his album fails to sell. To climb his way back into superstardom he’ll try just about anything, except reuniting with his former rap group. His former group is played by Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, who you may know as the other members of Samberg’s real musical comedy group The Lonely Island.
If you’ve ever wanted a movie made by The Lonely Island, Popstar: Never Stop Popping is that. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone all starred in the film, produced it, and co-wrote the script together. Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone co-directed the film too.
As for the cast, it’s incredibly impressive, to say the least. The main cast includes Andy Samberg, Schaffer, Taccone, Sarah Silverman, Tim Meadows, Imogen Poots, Joan Cusack, and Maya Rudolph with a supporting cast that includes Ashley Moore, Bill Hader, Danny Strong, Will Forte, and Justin Timberlake. That cast list is pretty stacked as it is, but that’s not even scratching the surface of all the celebrity cameos of people playing themselves. We won’t spoil all the cameos, but you’ll see ASAP Rocky, Snoop Dogg, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, Nas, and 50 Cent just to name a few.
Of course, Andy Samberg along with a stacked cast and an endless stream of cameos isn’t worth much if the movie isn’t funny. Fortunately, it delivers in this area as well, as the movie has become a bit of a cult classic since it was released in 2016. If you check out the Rotten Tomatoes score, you’ll see that it has a 79% from critics and 65% from audiences, which is pretty good for a subjective category like comedy.
Unfortunately, a movie doesn’t become a cult classic until after it leaves theaters, and Popstar: Never Stop Popping was pretty much the definition of a box office bomb. Even having Andy Samberg, the rest of the lonely island, and a ton of musicians wasn’t enough to get butts in seats for this one. It only managed to bring in $9.5 million against a budget of $20 million.
Still, Lonely Island fans will definitely get a lot out of this movie, considering they released an entire soundtrack to go along with the film that is packed with Lonely Island originals. Andy Samberg and his crew did not hold back, as the soundtrack contains a whopping 28 songs. Some of the guest artists on the soundtrack include Adam Levine, Michael Bolton, Justin Timberlake, Seal, Linkin Park, Emma Stone, Chris Redd, Akon, and Pink.
Luckily, the failure of Popstar: Never Stop Popping didn’t derail Andy Samberg’s career in the least. Since the release of Popstar: Never Stop Popping, Samberg has finished his tenure on the hit series Brooklyn Nine-Nine, voiced the chipmunk Dale in Chip N’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and co-starred with Cristin Milioti in the Groundhog Day-Esque Palm Springs. He’s also had a long list of guest roles and voice roles in various TV shows.
As for future Andy Samberg projects, the actor is set to have a role in the upcoming film Lee alongside Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Josh O’Connor, and James Murray. Lee is a biographical film about photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, a fashion model who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II. There’s no word yet on a release date.
In the meantime, quality musical mockumentaries are few and far between. While this Andy Samberg-led feature might not live up to the loft heights as something like This is Spinal Tap, it certainly scratches that itch. If you want to check out Andy Samberg and The Lonely Island in a musical mockumentary that mostly delivers, then make sure to check out Popstar: Never Stop Popping while it’s on HBO Max.
