Posted on Tuesday, 8th February 2011 by Sean Permewan
An energetic portrait of the global superstar as a down-to-earth teen from small-town Canada, the documentary works overtime (by about 10 minutes too long) to change his perception from fluke Internet phenom to the hardest-working 16-year-old on the planet.
And it generally succeeds, too, thanks to a visually energetic approach by director Jon Chu that keeps all the obligatory backstage/onstage bits moving fluidly.
Starting off, appropriately, on a YouTube page, where Bieber famously In Theaters This Week Get showtimes, watch movie trailers
- Cedar Rapids
- Come Undone
- The Eagle
- Gnomeo & Juliet
- Gnomeo & Juliet 3D
- Just Go With It
- Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
- Justin Bieber: Never Say Never 3D
- Nora s Will
- Outside the Law
- 2011 Oscar-nominated short films
- Interviews with the stars, hot new trailers
overtook the sneezing pandas and cute kitties by singing a cover of Chris Brown’s “With You,” the film follows the trajectory of its main lad’s career from behind his kiddie drum kit to the mighty Madison Square Garden stage, which, incidentally, was sold out in a mere 22 minutes.
Along the way we meet his young, devout Christian single mom, Pattie (who gave birth to The Bieb when she was all of 18), and his baby-faced manager, Scooter Braun, not to mention several of his more famous, early adherents, including Usher and prolific producer Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who in the remarkably self-possessed Bieber saw a musical Macaulay Culkin.
Director Chu, who infuses the film with the same lively zip he lent “Step Up 3D,” keeps things disarmingly real for the most part, and even manages to work in a little drama when it appears Bieber’s raggedy voice may not bounce back in time for the MSG gig.
And much like in Chu’s previous film, the 3-D pops mainly in the performance sequences, in which he’s joined by the likes of Usher, Miley Cyrus, Ludacris and Jaden Smith, where all the fist-pumping, dancing lasers and cascading ticker tape work to heightened effect.
But where the film ultimately hits home is with the more intimate, backstage stuff. Under the protective wing of an on-the-road support system serving as, in the words of one of his crew, a highly functional dysfunctional family, Bieber manages to make his film’s inspirational message heard loud and clear:
Despite your preconceived notions, he’s just your average, everyday multiplatinum-selling teen idol who still likes to kick back with his Stratford, Ontario, homies and grab a slice at the corner pizza joint. After saying grace, naturally.
Tags: Superstar
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