Popstar is one of those movies that is like a train wreck. You don’t want to watch it, but you do anyway. I was neither really excited for this movie, nor was I really looking forward to it. To me, the previews made it look dumb, and that all the funny bits were probably in the trailer.

I gotta say, I love it when I’m proven wrong. The movie is a satire that is almost on the same level as the movie Spinal Tap. It’s a cold harsh look at the pop music industry today. I say pop music industry, because indie rock and rock aren’t pop, but do cross over.

The movie follows Connor4Real, a member of Beastie Boys type group, after he’s gone solo. The movie is presented as a documentary, and has inter-spliced tour footage, ala Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never or the White Stripes’ Under Great Northern White lights. The movie follows Connor’s antics, as a person who is not self-aware of anything. It pokes fun at the celebrities who are famous for doing nothing.

What worked for me in the movie was the set design. They spent a lot of money designing the stage for him to perform on and it looks like something straight out of U2’s Zooropa tour. Another thing the film did really well was that it took itself seriously as a documentary, and the star cameos throughout the whole thing resembles talking heads.

The soundtrack was on point and the songs were produced for real. It wouldn’t surprise me if years later we’re listening to some of the songs, or some kid finds one, and think it’s a real song from a real group. It’s almost like the songs from Get Him to the Greek. They’re catchy pop songs.

What didn’t work for me was the movie got annoying at times. Even though it’s a great satire, sometimes I had to ask myself, “Is this really what I wanted to watch?” The worst part is that the movie is short, due to the of repetition in parts. I’m an advocate for shorter movies. This movie actually fits the time that a comedy film should be. What makes it worse is that, like I said earlier, it’s a train wreck that you can’t help but watch.

I would have given the film a poop emoji out of 5, but I feel if you haven’t seen the movie, the joke would be lost on you. While the movie is really on point as far as the acting, singing, and sets go, the movie is a “watch it once and done” type of film. For a one time viewing, I give the film 3.5 out 5.