MEAN GIRLS Review

Like so many movies these days, 2024's Mean Girls first had to prove its reasons for existing were valid. And like so many movies these days, I tend to appreciate them for where they succeed rather than condemning them for where they don't. In the broad scheme of things this new Mean Girls movie is perfectly fine, but when remaining within the stratosphere of this movie adaptation of a stage musical that itself was adapted from a twenty year-old feature film based on a 2002 non-fiction bestseller titled "Queen Bees & Wannabes" it becomes something bigger, something more; an investment in the material, the thought behind it, and how as much earned it the place it holds in our culture. 

"Like all history, this is emotionally layered and culturally dense." I was seventeen in 2004 when the original Tina Fey adaptation was released, I remember writing about it for my school newspaper, and realizing Fey had officially made the leap while simultaneously cementing Lindsay Lohan as a figurehead of my generation. Mean Girls never didn't feel like a big deal and so it wasn't surprising so many of the jokes and bits from that original film endured, but because of the endurance factor I couldn't help but wonder what the translation to the modern high school experience might have to say about our less PC and, as a result, more merciless environment. Additionally, I’d never seen the stage play and was thus unfamiliar with the production and music (written by Fey's husband, Jeff Richmond with lyrics by Nell Benjamin). While Mean Girls '24 then had to really justify itself what was maybe most surprising about the addition of the not exactly memorable music was how quickly it helped move me past the nostalgia factor and into appreciating what this retelling had to offer.

DREAM SCENARIO Review

When going into a movie with a premise as interesting as Dream Scenario there is always a mix of anticipation and anxiety. Anticipation in seeing what story the screenwriter chooses to tell through this unique premise while the anxiety centers around whether the film is able to see the full potential of said premise through to fruition. In terms of this very aesthetically indie third feature from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli the hook is that an average, everyday family man in the form of Nicolas Cage suddenly begins to show up in the dreams of both strangers and acquaintances. With no explanation as to why this is happening Cage's Paul Matthews comes to something of a fork in the road around how to deal with and/or take advantage of his newfound fame that naturally descends into notoriety. Another layer to Borgli's script in particular is that, given the premise, literally any moment in the film could either be a dream or reality leaving the audience guessing as to if what we're seeing is truly happening to our protagonist or not. 

Borgli unfortunately doesn't take as much advantage of this second layer as is available to him, but what is maybe more interesting is where the filmmaker ultimately decides to take the premise for the sake of the story he is telling. Much of the film frames Paul as a man or person searching for other people to impress and who are impressed by him, yet he constantly finds himself surrounded by those who have no interest in appeasing this desire. Whether it be his students, his children (Lily Bird and Jessica Clement), former colleagues (Dylan Baker) and girlfriends (Marnie McPhail) or even his current wife (Julianne Nicholson) in certain, critical moments – they all seem rather unbothered and unimpressed by Paul. Because of this, Paul is always searching for the insult whenever speaking with someone about himself and even when this phenomenon of him showing up in other people's dreams begins his instinct is not to wonder why this happening in the first place, but rather why his presence is only as a bystander. Still, as someone described as a "remarkable nobody" he enjoys the sudden shift in attention and isn't great at hiding it or remaining humble about it even if he remains average within this exceptional occurrence. Even when repercussions of this newfound fame begin to impact his real, personal life Paul has no sense of how to actually deal with things he otherwise imagines he would tackle head on; he’s helpless. 

POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING Review

There is a definitive climactic feel to everything about the latest venture from The Lonely Island, as if a culmination of everything the trio has been working towards since "Lazy Sunday" debuted over ten years ago. Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer have always had a knack for writing these catchy, hilarious spoofs of trending musical styles by taking timely and/or brutally honest perspectives and applying them to legit beats created by credible producers. The trick is they convey their sometimes cutting commentary and other times all out ridiculousness with the mentality of the pop culture machine in that it all feels superfluous and can be enjoyed for its surface level pleasures, but if one cares to look-there is more there. The Lonely Island have applied that same approach and ideology to their latest feature film project as this is very much a mockumentary that is lampooning the trend of pop stars producing their own "behind the scenes" documentaries in order to both appeal further to their established fan base while hopefully converting a few of the uninitiated as well. Out of the big, sprawling narrative we call life the managing teams around the likes of Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and One Direction have crafted three-act narratives around their phenomenon's in order to give some sense of structure to lives that likely have very little of it. The Lonely Island have taken the idea of this type of branding and selling and picked out every aspect in which they can make fun of thus creating the perfect vessel of sorts for them to both create their own music and release it simultaneously while adding the all-important visual element to those songs in the form of a feature film. As a longtime fan of The Lonely Island and pretty much all they stand for Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping feels like that aforementioned culmination due to the fact this format provides the perfect stage for the type of comedy and social commentary The Lonely Island has always been good at, but have now been afforded the chance to do so on a much bigger scale. Are there issues with the film as a whole? Sure, a few, but to pick out the minor quibbles would be to detract from how much fun it is to watch this deconstruction of not only the music industry, but pop culture in general and the near perfect execution with which it pulls off the task it sets out to accomplish.

New Trailer for POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING

The more I see of The Lonely Island's Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping the more I excited I get for what it potentially holds. Everything about the film seems to encapsulate what The Lonely Island was put on this earth to create and I can only hope my sky high expectations going in don't set me up for disappointment. If this latest trailer is any indication though, this all seems to be heading in the best possible direction. With a little over two weeks to go before its release the marketing campaign is kicking into high gear with the trio also releasing two new songs this week that we hear in the trailer titled "I'm So Humble" and "Mona Lisa". Again, so far so good as both new tracks, while somewhat abbreviated, promise classic Lonely Island formulas by taking timely and/or brutally honest perspectives and applying them to the superfluous stylings of pop music. Andy Samberg has always been good at portraying dimwitted, but lovable characters and he seems to have captured that essence perfectly in Conner who we'll simultaneously loathe and want to treat like an abandoned puppy. This trailer gives audiences more of an idea for the layout of the film and the fact it is lampooning the recent wave of pop star documentaries to come from those pop stars own camps a la Justin Bieber and Katy Perry. While I've yet to run into anyone who isn't excited for this movie I'm still very curious to see if the film will expand past the borders of Lonely Island fans and reach a broad audience given their last film, 2007's Hot Rod, only grossed $14 million worldwide. As a fan of theirs, I adore Hot Rod and feel the movie has definitely picked up steam since its home video release, which bodes well for Popstar, but let's hope that translates to high praise and recognition right out of the gate this time around; especially if the final product deserves it. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping also stars Sarah Silverman, Mike Birbiglia, Tim Meadows, Imogen Poots, Bill Hader, Joan Cusack, Snoop Dogg and opens on June 3, 2016.

Red Band Trailer for The Lonely Island's POPSTAR: NEVER STOP NEVER STOPPING

In what I assume will be premiering with Sacha Baron Cohen's The Brothers Grimsby tonight in theaters The Lonely Island and producer Judd Apatow have released a first, NSFW trailer for their latest film that looks to poke fun at pop star music docs/concert films the way last summer's 7 Days in Hell satirized the 30 for 30 format. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping makes complete sense given that The Lonely Island and its members, including Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer, have been somewhat parodying pop music for years now with their digital shorts on SNL and early hip hop inspired albums including Incredibad, Turtleneck & Chain, as well as 2013's The Wack Album. It was definitely time for some new Lonely Island music to make its way into my life and to finally get a glimpse of what we might be in for this summer given the soundtrack is sure to be just as entertaining as the movie itself is really exciting. In the film, Samberg stars as what looks to be a riff on Justin Bieber with the premise being that when his new album fails to sell records, pop/rap superstar conner4real will try anything to bounce back; anything except reuniting with his old rap group The Style Boyz. While this will certainly please fans of the group I'm curious to see if the film will expand past those borders and reach a broad audience given the Island's last film, 2007's Hot Rod, only grossed $14 million worldwide. As a fan of theirs, I kind of adore Hot Rod and feel the movie has definitely picked up steam since its home video release, but it would be nice to see Popstar get some high praise and recognition right out of the gate, especially if the final product deserves it. It certainly seems to have the potential to be something great. Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping also stars Sarah Silverman, Mike Birbiglia, Tim Meadows, Imogen Poots, Bill Hader, Joan Cusack, Snoop Dogg and opens on June 3, 2016.