Never pay never
Monday, April 11, 2011
``I want to marry Justin Bieber. One day, we will be husband and wife.'' Not my words, obviously, but the words of a teenage Justin Bieber fan. There are many others just like it in Never Say Never, the concert-documentary that follows the then 16-year-old in the lead-up to his biggest performance at Madison Square Garden in New York. It charts the teen sensation's journey from a child obsessed with music, to a YouTube sensation being mentored by one of pop music biggest success stories; Usher. Musical numbers from his sold-out concert break up the background story, fan testimonials and show preparation.
This is material perfectly suited to director Jon M. Chu, who has made a name for himself with teen dance musicals Step Up 2 and 3. Chu is as on-trend as ever, cleverly opening the film by making the audience click through emails to watch famous You Tube clips, such as the sneezing panda, before they click on what started it all; footage of a 12-year-old Bieber singing Chris Brown's With You. It's the video, along with several others, that caught the eye of millions of internet voyeurs; including an ambitious, young music producer and promoter Scooter Braun who recognised Bieber as his ticket to the big leagues. With superstar backers, a major record label, bucket loads of talent and that haircut, The Bieb is crafted into what he is now; a phenomenon that turns normally sane girls into fiends-for-fans. Perhaps pop music legend Antonio `L.A' Reid describes it best in the film when he calls Bieber ``the Macaulay Culkin of music.''
This is material perfectly suited to director Jon M. Chu, who has made a name for himself with teen dance musicals Step Up 2 and 3. Chu is as on-trend as ever, cleverly opening the film by making the audience click through emails to watch famous You Tube clips, such as the sneezing panda, before they click on what started it all; footage of a 12-year-old Bieber singing Chris Brown's With You. It's the video, along with several others, that caught the eye of millions of internet voyeurs; including an ambitious, young music producer and promoter Scooter Braun who recognised Bieber as his ticket to the big leagues. With superstar backers, a major record label, bucket loads of talent and that haircut, The Bieb is crafted into what he is now; a phenomenon that turns normally sane girls into fiends-for-fans. Perhaps pop music legend Antonio `L.A' Reid describes it best in the film when he calls Bieber ``the Macaulay Culkin of music.''
Never Say Never is full of hilarious interviews and clips with Bieber die-hards, ranging in age from 8 to thirty eight. They will be ecstatic with the use of 3D technology here, with Bieber's hand reaching out of the screen to them in concert footage and a surprisingly amusing scene where Etta James' At Last plays over footage of him flicking his famous hair in slow-motion. Yet unlike the greatest music documentaries, Martin Scorsese's Shine A Light or Ramones: End of The Century, Never Say Never fails to be interesting to those who aren't already Justin Bieber fans. A lot of the footage of a now-famous Bieber returning to his hometown feels staged and forced. Like when his grandma comes in and tells him he can't go out with his friends until he's cleaned his room or when the 16-year-old's say grace over a meal of pizza. Seriously.
There's a plethora of unnecessary interviews, with everyone from stage hands to Snoop Dogg, who's sole purpose in the film seems to be to talk about the merits of having piggy tales with ``some accessories on the end for fans to play with.'' Word. You will also be hard pressed to keep your lunch down as you watch Bieber sing about his ``angel'' while playing an acoustic guitar in a giant steel love-heart that is suspended above an audience of screaming girls. Despite all this, there's no mistaking his talent. We're shown home videos where a ridiculously young Bieber naturally takes to everything from the piano to guitar, even playing the drums in a local jazz band at the age of eight.
But what Never Say Never unintentionally gives us is the opportunity to see how talent, combined with opportunity, can craft something almost completely out of the artist's control. For the duration of the film he's almost always surrounded by adults, his friends talk about how they barely get to see him and the only contact he has with people his own age is when he's sprinting away from a mob of Eenie, Meenie Mo Lover's or rapping with Will Smith's son Jaden. At one point, a physically run down Bieber asks his vocal coach Mama Jan Smith for McDonald's chicken nuggets for dinner, to which she responds angrily; ``Do you want to stay in the game? Or do you want to pack up and go back home to Canada?''
Never Say Never wants to make a Bieleber out of you, but unless Justin Bieber is already your one love, one heart, one life (for sure) then this film is going to be a test of endurance.
Never Say Never is out now.
Step Up 3D opens with NYU freshman Moose (Adam G Sevani) struggling to balance the commitments of his engineering degree with his passion for dancing after he meets a tight-knit group of street dancers called the Pirates (arrrr). Led by Luke (Rick Malambri), the Pirates live, train and dance together in a warehouse above the nightclub which they run to make ends meet. But they are five months behind in their mortgage payments and the only way to repay their debts is by winning the World Jam Dance Championships and the $100, 000 prize. Oh of course! Luke is convinced that with the novelty of a dancing Moose and skills of new girl Natalie (former Home & Away actress Sharni Vinson) they have the talent to win the competition.
But really, when you go to see a Step Up movie you're not focused on the story – it’s all about the dancing. Which. Is. Incredible. Dr Seuss character turned American hip-hop choreographer Hi-Hat has outdone herself, with eye-popping and innovative routines packed into every baggy-jeaned pocket of the movie. There is also a fabulous scene where Moose and Camille (Alyson Stoner) pay homage to the classic dance movie musicals of the Hollywood era with a spontaneous street dance. Of course majority of the target audience won’t get the reference, but it’s a nice touch.