Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping(2016)

R
Rated R for some graphic nudity, language throughout, sexual content and drug use
1h 27m

Release Date: Jun 3, 2016 | Wide

When it becomes clear that his solo album is a failure, a former boy band member does everything in his power to maintain his celebrity status.

Official Website

Releases

Original Release | Jun 3, 2016

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Box Office Results

Results

Opening Weekend US & Canada:
$4,698,715
Total US & Canada:
$9,639,125
Total International
$40,904
Total Worldwide:
$9,680,029

Current Showtimes

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(U.S. Only)

Director & Top Cast

Akiva Schaffer
Director

Jorma Taccone
Director

Sarah Silverman
Actor

Technical Specifications

Sound Mix: Dolby Digital,Datasat

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States,China

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

Note: The whole movie is made in the style of a mockumentary in the vein of 'This is Spinal Tap'.The film starts with an introduction of The Style Boyz, a popular boy band from back in the day. Made up of Owen Bouchard/Kid Contact (Jorma Taccone), Lawrence Dunne/Kid Brain (Akiva Schaffer), and Conner Friel/Kid Conner (Andy Samberg), they influenced the likes of Usher, Nas, and Questlove, and their song and dance "Donkey Roll" was a huge hit. However, over the years, Conner became the face of the band, leading Owen and Lawrence to get sidelined. This, plus Conner's ego and moronic behavior, caused friction between Conner and Lawrence, and The Style Boyz eventually split up.In the present, Conner has gone solo as Conner4Real, but Owen stuck around as his DJ, while Lawrence moved to the countryside to become a farmer. Conner's first solo album, "Thriller, Also" was the #1 selling album. We see him onstage with Adam Levine's hologram performing his hit song "I'm So Humble". We also meet Conner's publicist Paula (Sarah Silverman) and manager Harry (Tim Meadows), the latter who states that Conner has 32 people on his personal payroll, including a weed roller, a guy to punch him in the nuts to remind him where he came from, and a "perspective manipulator" who stands next to Conner to make him look taller.Conner is getting ready to release his second album, "CONNquest". His first single off that album, "Equal Rights", features Pink, and mostly features Conner reminding listeners that he's not gay, mainly by saying "I'M NOT GAY" and utilizing "straight" things. The first reviews are not kind. Out of four stars, Rolling Stone gives it the shit emoji. Conner does find a review that calls it a "triumph"... but it's from The Onion.We're treated to a clip of Conner's featured performance on a song from another pop star (Emma Stone) which is mostly made up of catchphrases that Lawrence wrote. Conner never gave him credit for it.In order to build up the marketing for the album, Conner signs with Aquaspin to gain publicity. He and his entourage meet with Aquaspin head Deborah (Maya Rudolph; pronounced Duh-BORE-uh) to see that much of their products, like fridges, play Conner's music when used. This is supported by artists like A$AP Rocky and RZA. Conner holds a party with all the Aquaspin products, which is attended by his coke-addicted mom Tilly (Joan Cusack) and his airheaded movie star girlfriend Ashley Wednesday (Imogen Poots). The use of the Aquaspin products causes mass blackouts across the nation. This pisses off even some of Conner's biggest fans."CONNquest" sells poorly in its first week. As Conner is set to go on tour, he and Harry decide to pair him up with the rapper Hunter The Hungry (Chris Redd). Hunter is a big fan of Conner's, so the two start touring together, playing some of Conner's new tracks, "Bin Laden" (talking about a girl that wants to get fucked like "America fucked Bin Laden") and "Mona Lisa" (how the painting is overrated). On the tour, Conner decides to try out a gimmick where he changes costumes onstage. During his performance, he accidentally ends up nude with his penis tucked between his legs, leading everybody to think he has no dick.Conner is frequently mocked by paparazzi from CMZ (Will Arnett, Chelsea Peretti, Eric Andre, and Mike Birbiglia), all of whom are frequently seen drinking from huge cups. They take aim at his "wardrobe malfunction" here.In order to change the word in the media, Conner decides to propose to Ashley. He stages an elaborate proposal, with wolves and a performance from Seal. As Conner proposes, Seal's song causes the wolves to go nuts and start running loose. Conner and Ashley run to their limo while Seal tries to hold off the wolves, leading to him getting mauled. Seal later sues Conner, Ashley breaks up with him, and his fans are now even more pissed.Conner manages to get himself a last minute spot on "The Tonight Show". Jimmy Fallon brings Owen out so the three of them can do the Donkey Roll, which upsets Conner because he thinks it makes him look like a has-been.Owen decides to try and bring Conner and Lawrence back together in a "Parent Trap"-inspired scheme where they can reconcile. Owen brings them both inside a limo to talk, but neither of them want to speak to each other. The limo then gets bombarded by crazed fans that want Conner to sign their body parts. He ends up signing someone's penis before leaving Owen and Lawrence.Conner starts to have a public meltdown as he trashes his home, yells at his fans during one of his shows for not buying "CONNquest", and then sabotaging Hunter's performance after learning he was responsible for the wardrobe malfunction. When Harry tells Conner he also signed Hunter, Conner gives Harry an ultimatum of who to work with.Conner decides to return to his mother's house and get away from the show biz lifestyle. He becomes upset when his pet turtle Maximus gets ill and eventually dies. He holds a funeral for him in his pool (and then hosts a pool party). Conner is later visited by Paula, who puts on a tape of Conner's 10th birthday party where Owen and Lawrence gave him Maximus as a gift. Paula brings him to a club where Owen is performing as the DJ and tries to sing (he's tone deaf). Conner, wearing a ridiculous disguise, approaches his friend and apologizes for his behavior.Conner and Owen travel to Lawrence's farm. After repeatedly trying to justify his stupidity, Conner apologizes to Lawrence and gives him credit for writing his best stuff. Lawrence forgives him and then reveals to his friends that he has been growing weed. They spend the afternoon hanging out, when Conner gets a call from Paula saying he got a spot at the Pop Awards (or "Poppies"). Conner wants to turn it down, but Owen and Lawrence tell him not to since it could be big for him. They then start working on a song that Lawrence started writing a while ago.The guys head out for the Poppies to join Conner as The Style Boyz again. They see Hunter filming a personal documentary. He goes up onstage to present an award with Mariah Carey and just uses it as a chance to advertise something. Mariah and the fans get annoyed, leading Hunter to curse everyone out. He then goes to confront Harry and insults him, so Harry punches him in the face. One of the show's producers then approaches Conner and says his act has been cut from six minutes to three, meaning he has to choose between doing a solo performance or go on with Owen and Lawrence. Conner thinks hard for a moment but then makes up his mind.Conner goes up to perform. It sounds like he's about to perform the "Bin Laden" song, and then Owen and Lawrence join him onstage. They perform their newest song, "Incredible Thoughts", with last minute guest performer MICHAEL BOLTON. Usher joins as a dancer to do the Donkey Roll (fulfilling a dream of his), and a guy in a fish costume playing a guitar, who turns out to be Conner's chef (Justin Timberlake). The song is a huge hit, and the fans go wild.In the end, Conner is happy and performing with his friends again. He even gets a new turtle that he names Maximus 2. Conner then gets mauled by a wolf.During the credits, we see the CMZ gang trying to mock Conner again, but they have nothing and then reflect on their sad, miserable lives. They then decide to poke fun at James Franco leaving a Denny's restaurant.

Storyline

When his new album fails to sell records, pop and rap superstar conner4real (Andy Samberg) goes into a major tailspin and watches his celebrity high life begin to collapse. He'll try anything to bounce back, anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz. When it becomes apparent that his new album ConnQuest is a bomb, internationally renowned pop star Connor 4 Real (Andy Samberg) does everything he can to save what's left of his career. Even if it means selling out or appearing on endless late night talk shows. But when the populace demands that he reunite his former band "The Style Boyz", Connor brushes off every attempt to do so. Even if that means reconnecting with the one former member who can make it all happen, but he is reluctant to do so. Can Connor clean up his act and make amends to reunite his crew? Or will his ego get in the way? — halo1k This mockumentary spoof of the music business and modern celebrity centers on self-absorbed pop rapper Conner4Real (Andy Samberg). Once a member of a popular rap trio called the Style Boyz, Conner is now a solo artist about to drop his second album. Unfortunately, the release gets abysmal reviews, and his career begins to melt down when his attempts at rehabbing his image lead to such disasters as a global blackout and a proposal to his girlfriend interrupted by a wolf attack. Eventually, Conner considers burying the hatchet with former colleagues Owen (Jorma Taccone) and Lawrence (Akiva Schaffer) in order to reunite the Style Boyz..