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Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
| Released |
18 February 2011 |
| Director |
Jon Chu |
Starring
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Justin Bieber, Boys II Men, Miley Cyrus, Sean Kingston, Ludacris, Jaden Smith, Usher |
Producer(s)
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Scooter Braun, Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz, Usher Raymond, Antonio Reid |
| Origin |
United States |
| Running Time |
105 minutes |
| Genre |
Documentary, music |
| Rating |
G |
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Sounds like teen spirit.
Until very recently I was only vaguely aware of the name Justin Bieber; I was even under the misapprehension that the Bieber effect hadn’t really made it as far as our own shores. The screams of the excitable teenage girls attendant at the premiere of this half documentary/half concert movie quickly proved how wrong I was. Writing a review of Never Say Never then is actually quite tricky for me. Clearly I am not the target audience for the film and if I hadn’t been tasked with reviewing it, the whole spectacle would have passed me by. I suspect that, unless you have a Bieber-ite in the family, the majority of you have absolutely no intention of venturing anywhere near this one. Certainly, I would not recommend any non-fans to rush out and see Never Say Never but if you do find yourself having to attend, it certainly isn’t as painful as you may expect.
The film follows Bieber in the run up to his sell-out show at Madison Square Garden. Footage of his (short) life and times are sprinkled among talking head testimonials from family and management, as well as spirited performances from the show itself. And all very nice it is too. Rather than coming from showbiz families or the juggernauts of Disney and Nickelodeon, Bieber was just a kid who loved music from an early age, learning piano, drums and guitar before becoming a hit on YouTube. Comedy is wrung from the histrionics of his fans, schmaltz is kept to a minimum and there are guest appearances aplenty (including some haircare tips from Snoop Dogg).
Judging by the decibel levels at the screening, the fans were having the time of their lives; singing along with every song, awwwing at Baby Bieber photos and vocalising their disgust at the guest appearance of Miley Cyrus (ignore the fickle nature of the teenage girl at your peril, Bieber!). As for me, I thought it all good clean fun- hardly life changing but certainly not the worst thing I’ve seen so far this year.
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Linda O’Brien |
