Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is a movie-long clown on Justin Bieber and his ilk, which fans could surmise even without that Anne Frank joke in this trailer, the film’s second. Where we last saw Conner 4 Real enjoying being dope and testimonials from Usher and DJ Khaled as to his raw, raw talent, this trailer’s a little more intimate: Conner proposes to his girlfriend Ashley, which appears to result in the death of pop star Seal at the hands of a pack of wolves.
At one point, Samberg screams, “Ace Ventura!” It’s a callback to that goofy, physical style of comedy, but The Lonely Island is funnier than that, because they’re smart enough to know when to be dumb, and how much. Never mind that pop stardom is as ripe for lampooning as metal was in the Spinal Tap era; this genre calls for excess, and if anyone can do excess, it’s absurdist comedians of their ilk. And Mona Lisa, truly, was the original basic bitch.
Popstar drops June 3; Pitchfork reports that Samberg’s real-life wife Joanna Newsom’s among the guest stars, and she’s playing herself. Harp jokes incoming.
