Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (John M. Chu, 2011) Justin Bieber, Boyz II Men, Miley Cyrus
Follows Justin Bieber with some footage of performances from his 2010 concert tour.
I watched this expecting to just take a look to see who the guy is and what he does, before watching something more serious. I wasn’t expecting much, as the IMDb rating is 1.5/10 stars. But I ended up staying the course. It’s quite a satisfactory movie as such, and Bieber is not some kind of construct: he really can entertain. I was reminded of the Michael Jackson film that I’d seen not long before: This Is It (Kenny Ortega, 2009) which the IMDB gives 7.2/10. Both are docos about shows which might or might not get up: Jackson’s didn’t because he died, while Bieber is triumphant at Madison Square Gardens, despite, shock, horror, over-used vocal cords (that’s the plot). So I conclude Never Say Never‘s low score is simply because of prejudice against the young Canadian. Pity; it’s an enjoyable film unless you’ve already decided it must be crap.
It was striking not only that the audience seemed to be entirely composed of girls but also that they knew all of the words of all of the songs and sang along throughout. They were really enjoying themselves, without getting hysterical like the girls in the early Beatles audiences.
Garry Gillard | New: 11 March, 2017 | Now: 12 March, 2020