CAST: Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Jaden Smith, Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris, Nathan Morris; DIRECTOR: Jon Chu; GENRE: Documentary, Musical; RUNNING TIME: 105 min.
Technical Assessment: 3.5
Moral Assessment: 3.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 13 and below with parental guidance.
Never Say Never traces the career of teen idol Justin Bieber from the time his mother Pattie Mallette posted home videos of Justin singing pop songs to YouTube for family members to see—to the moment the 16-year-old performed at the world famous Madison Square Garden in New York. Through juxtaposition of family video clips and professional performances, both starring Bieber, a story emerges about an ordinary but musically precocious boy from a small Canadian town 150 kilometers west of Toronto. He was cute as a baby, and is still cute now as a as a singing sensation.
If Never Say Never were crafted like a usual fictional movie or literary work, its climax would be when the singer contracts an infected throat, threatening his scheduled performances, and its denouement would be when he gets over the sore throat and finally sends his fans screaming during the show that was reportedly sold out in 22 minutes.
So, is Never Say Never, directed by Jon Chu, a documentary, a bio-flick, a concert movie, or a publicist’s opus? A little of each, perhaps, having been crafted together out of the devotion of Bieber’s family, the adoration of his fans, the enthusiasm of his coaches and the enterprise of his managers.
We see videos of the toddler Justin displaying his drum-tapping genius on any surface he can get his hands on. We discover he’s a lefty when he’s shown as a little boy strumming a guitar. We hear his husky-for-his-age voice as he busks at a downtown sidewalk. And we view snapshots of this wide-eyed baby as though leafing through a family friend’s photo album.
When the camera is not on Bieber, it’s focused on his mother and grandparents being interviewed, his childhood playmates, his voice coach “Mama Jan”, his bodyguard Ryan Good, his manager Scooter Braun, and even (as in a cameo role) his estranged father who shows up at a performance.
There are tour-bus antics spliced in, glimpses of backstage goings on, clips of Bieber adeptly styling his now world-famous hair, off-stage moments of hugging and horseplay with family and friends, vocalization sessions, rehearsals, team prayers, encounters with fans and other scenes apparently calculated to project a more endearing guy-next-door image for “Bieber Beliebers.”
The outcome is not quite a movie, strictly speaking; instead it’s more like a victory parade winding through but three years of an internet-launched career. Bieber is a winner, and this movie is a celebration of his triumph over ordinariness. Also participating in this parade are young stars Miley Cyrus and Jaden Smith singing and dancing with Bieber in the highlights of the 86-show arena tour. Watching Never Say Never is like seeing the best of 86 Bieber shows for the price of a movie ticket.
As a film, Never Say Never is entertaining—even inspiring, in fact, particularly for his target audience of preteens, young tweeners (age 10-15) and 3rd millennium teenyboppers—but it does not break ground. Nonetheless, it is expected to rake in more millions as it has already reportedly exceeded the earnings of Michael Jackson’s This Is It in two months.
Watching Never Say Never, you might wonder what it is about this blond mophead that sends girls shrieking and weeping and gasping “Omigod!” at his appearance? Nothing like that seen since the Beatles, but the British mopheads were four in all. Bieber’s music is… well, it’s for his target audience, not for music afficionados; and his dance routine won’t take your breath away. It’s a relief, however, that aside from a bit of fireworks, director Chu is careful not to overshadow Bieber’s music with mise-en-scene or smother the boy’s considerable talent with theatrics.
So what’s so hot about Justin Bieber? Why do girls go ga-ga over him, doing silly things like brandishing placards that say “Marry me!” and “I’ll be his wife”? We can only guess: his boyish features and behavior which project innocence could be one reason; another is his passion for his music which suggests he has no time for hanky-panky and which challenges them all the more. There is also a playful air about him that syncs perfectly with his non-threatening physique: Bieber is 5’4” tall, weighs 108 lbs, wear XS shirts, size 27 pants and size 7 shoes—rather petite for a 17-year old Caucasian male, the more to invite cuddling and babying from adoring females.
He’s the squeaky-clean boy next door, obedient to elders, respectful to everyone, honestly cares for fans and entertains them without having to…uh…stroke his crotch.
This could owe to the fact that he has been raised by a mother who speaks about God as though He were part of the family, and grandparents whose nurturing presence has more than made up for the absence of his own father since he was an infant. The Christian home environment is duplicated in his workplace where prayer and offering of self and actions to God is de rigueur before each performance. All the signs say Bieber is a good boy.
But is Justin Bieber really as pure as the driven snow as Never Say Never would have audiences believe? Grandmothers who in yesteryears swooned over Elvis Presley, grandfathers who coveted Frank Sinatra’s voice, parents who grew up with The Carpenters may not be able to resonate with Bieber’s Eenie Meenie or Baby but they surely see Bieber’s menu as a healthy alternative to what other teen stars are dishing out to their children and grandchildren.
How long Bieber will reign supreme, or stay relatively uncorrupted, nobody knows. He is fortunate to have been born in the cyber era when it’s so easy for anyone with even a modicum of talent to be discovered and catapulted to fame at the click of a mouse. But fortune is a two sided coin. The problem is not getting to the top, but staying on top, and not just at the top of the sales charts, but on top of the traps waiting to ensnare one who tastes fame and fortune too much too soon.
The influences around Bieber are an interesting, combustible mix. In the first circle there is his mother and his grandparents forming a protective mantle of love around him; next there are his business partners, his growing, strengthening second family who will inevitably have a say on his future. Among them is Bieber’s idol and mentor, Usher, under whose label Bieber sings and who is known for his songs that exalt raw sex. Add to these influences the sway of his fans some of whom blatantly worship him like a god.
Will Justin Bieber eventually retire as a small town gospel singer or will he be packaged as a Junior Usher until the next YouTube sensation comes along? Will his star burn out before he’s 21 or will he walk with head held high until he finds his inner hero? That’s the beauty of Never Say Never—as long as you view it as a mere part of a process, a transition from boyhood to manhood, the metamorphosis of a human being—you’re free to write your own ending to it.
