Review of film: “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” + the BUILDING of an entertainment CAREER

2011, 03-01:

Review of film:  “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER”  + the BUILDING of an entertainment CAREER

               Just say “WHY NOT?!”

I know a bunch of people who actively expressed DISinterest in seeing this movie because it was about a young performer.  I did NOT have that attitude:

…  A number of years ago, I visited friends of mine.  In their apartment building lived a young kid named JULIAN who, to me, was a musical PRODIGY of sorts…  When he was less than 10, he was short for his age & chanced to go with his mother to a sort of informal musical performance by some people from Africa…

…  Being very open & outgoing, he went up to the stage & told the guys there that he LIKED how they were playing African drums, & wondered if they’d let HIM try to play them.  They smiled, thinking it’d be cute to have a good-natured small blue-eyed blonde-haired kid join them, so they said, sure, come on up!...

…  To their amazement, he had an incredible ability to PLAY the drums with marvelous rhythm.  They thought, he’d been sort of “kidding” when he’d indicated he’d never played such an instrument before.  But, he WASN’T kidding--  it was the FIRST time he’d ever tried!...  They & the audience (including his mother) were thrilled by what they’d heard!...

…  Julian’s mother had once played flute, & his father had once played guitar for fun.  His older brother played piano--  tho he at times hated practicing it.  Julian hadn’t played much af any instrument, preferring to spend his time playing SPORTS (like hockey, etc.)…

…  Not long after the drum-playing incident, Julian for some reason got intrigued by the CELLO--  & decided to try to play THAT (seemingly at school).  To everyone’s shock, he had an immediate ability to play it exceptionally WELL, using a BOW & using his fingers for chords, etc. 

…  When I heard the story & expressed an interest in hearing him, his mother invited me to hear him in their apartment.  There was Julian, happily reading music as he played along, accompanied by his mother on flute!... 

…  It was wonderful to see…  But, when I complimented him on how great it was to hear him play like that, he “shrugged it off” as “NO big deal”… 

...  Julian (who’s now grown to be quite tall for his age) didn’t play the instrument for very long, & told me he’d soon switched to playing acoustic guitar.  When I asked, he played that for me, exhibiting a finely “smooth” touch (able to make a heavy-metal song sound very melodic & gentle)…

…  When I complimented him on that + a number he made-up as he went along, to my urging him to consider doing some COMPOSING  of his own ideas, having NO “big head” (& possibly lacking some self-confidence?), he “pooh-poohed” the idea & had no particular interest in being a “PERFORMER” in life…

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…  But, there are a NUMBER of young people who HAVE tried to make a career out of being popular performers:  Elvis Presley started actively perfoming by 19 (in 1954), & was guided by a strong-willed manager (“Colonel” Tom Parker) in the 1950’s… 

…  Frankie Avalon was performing (initially as a trumpet player) at age 12 (in 1952) & soon switched to singing…  Paul Anka was recording at 14 & later wrote hits such as “DIANA”, “SHE’S A LADY” & “MY WAY”)…

…  Those singers, plus Fabian (Forte), Neil Sedaka (singer & composer), & others were heavily promoted by various record labels & managers in the 1950’s & 60’s when they were teenagers…  So, there’s quite a HISTORY” of successful young performers… 

…  By 1966, there were some “MANUFACTURED” singing stars:  that year, Bob Rafelson worked with Bert Schneider to create a group called “THE MONKEES”.  They became so popular on TV & in concerts, most of the guys are still working in entertainment today (& their TV series is still in reruns)…

…  In March of 2006, the DISNEY group worked to promote a young girl called MILEY (“Hannah Montana”) CYRUS on their network, & she soon became a Superstar…  They soon succeeded that same way (in 2008) with a boy group called the JONAS BROTHERS, who also reached massive popularity…

…  What’s sort of “NEW” in today’s world is the way “SOCIAL NETWORKING” has been used to inrtroduce the world to some “modern” performers.  This movie I’m reviewing about JUSTIN BIEBER documents what is probably the greatest current SUCCESS in entertainment “self-promotion”…

…  Justin was born in Canada on March 1, 1994, to an 18-(or then 19)-year-old French Canadian woman named PATRICIA “Pattie” MALLETTE.  As this movie documents, she & the father (JEREMY JACK BIEBER) broke up after like 10 months, & Pattie raised Justin with the help of her parents in Stratford, Ontario…

…  Justin was one of those musical “PRODIGIES” I spoke about earlier:  he taught HIMSELF to play drums (starting on an African-style drum, per a HOME VIDEO), then piano and guitar and even trumpet…

…  As shown by the numerous home videos, he loved to perform --  both for family (in homes) & for the general public outside stores & other venues, and placed 2^nd in a local 2007 singing competition…

…  His Mom was very proud of 12-year-old Justin (as shown in the home videos interspersed throughout  the movie), & she posted a “YOU TUBE” video of that 2007 contest + of some other performances he’d done… 

…  To the surprise of Pattie & Justin, the videos proved to be exceptionally POPULAR & started getting Justin a good deal of notoriety.  One person who saw the videos (by accident) was a man in Atlanta named SCOOTER BRAUN, who’d been a marketing exec for a record label…

…  As he tells in the movie, he worked very hard to try to get in CONTACT with Justin, which was difficult because his mother was leery of his meeting with a stranger.  [One thing that’s not mentioned in the film is, she wanted Justin to some day record for a “CHRISTIAN” label, & she was initially wary because Scooter was Jewish…]

…  Anyway, after various “consultations” with church leaders & others, she eventually let Justin go (at 13) to Atlanta to record some R&B DEMO tapes.  Scooter soon introduced Justin to people like singer USHER (RAYMOND) & Island Def Jam record company’s ANTONIO L.A. REID.  They were so impressed with Justin, he was soon signed to CONTRACTS with the people involved (by October, 2008), & Scooter became his manager and friend…

…  As chronicled in the movie, Justin & Scooter & his “group” worked very hard, traveling by bus (& other means) to loads of SMALL TOWNS & RADIO STATIONS around the U.S., trying to promote Justin & his music…  

…  He also started using social networking such as a TWITTER account to advise people what he was doing & where he would be performing, & that led to an ever-expanding core of interest in him & his activities…

…  By the summer of 2009, Justin’s first records were released, & his music quickly started “SHOOTING-UP” in the charts…  As seen in numerous examples, he soon became a darling of (usually screaming) pre-teen girls, & the PHENOMENON just kept “snowballing” around the world…

…  By late 2009, he was being regularly seen on TV shows, acted as a presenter at the Grammys on January 31, 2010, and was a vocalist on the 25^th anniversary re-done version of “WE ARE THE WORLD” within a couple months after that… 

…  That January, he released the “lead” song (“BABY”, which Justin helped write) from his album “MY WORLD 2.0”.  It soon became a worldwide smash hit…  A number of videos show how much he enjoyed getting together & spending time with old FRIENDS in the Stratford area (such as RYAN & CHAZ) …      

…  A good deal of time is spent on preparations leading up to his scheduled concert at New York’s MADISON SQUARE GARDEN on August 31, 2010.  It’s done in a 10-day or so “countdown” format, showing what’s happening day-by-day (including various other concert performances)…

…  Various scenes show Justin’s relaxed & “playful” attitude with his friends and entourage / crew members (including people -- like his guitarist DAN KANTER -- who were handling his career on a day-to-day basis)…  

…  Justin tended to be so outgoing, he was straining his voice at times…  As shown during the movie, he had various consultations with a lady voice coach, & eventually had to see a DOCTOR who advised he had an infection around his vocal cords…

…  With his attitude about the fans & hating disappointing those who’ve made him successful, he had to decide whether or not to CANCEL an August 29 concert at the NY State Fair, for fear that, (per the doctor’s warning),  if he didn’t do that, his voice might not be in proper shape for the Madison Square Garden concert 2 days later…

…  There’s a lot of footage of the preparations (including rehearsals) and “final” work for his MSG show, including scenes with JADEN SMITH, BOYS II MEN, LUDACRIS, USHER and MILEY CYRUS… 

…  As shown in a number of scenes, there are usually “PRAYER” sessions among him & his crew and managers before his various performances…

…  The movie clearly shows the POWER of SOCIAL NETWORKING in helping build-up a performer in his career…  It also illustrates how a movie company can use the power of a VARIETY of quickly-done re-edits of a film to try to quickly generate more MONEY when things seem to be “HOT”:

...  The original version of the film came out on February 11^th, in both 3-D & 2-D versions…  While the critics weren’t too “thrilled” with the film, Justin’s FANS helped push it into the # 2 film during its opening weekend, grossing $ 29.5 million …

…  The “original” cut of director Jon Chu’s film was like 2.5 hours…  It was cut down to around 1 hour 37 minutes in its original “Release” form…  But then, possibly because it didn’t do as well as hoped, supposedly because of “demands” from Justin’s FANS, a new “DIRECTOR’S CUT” was prepared:

…  That version (released February 25^th, for supposedly a “1 week” run) removed around 22 or so minutes from the original & added in 40 “new” minutes.  In the 2-D version (which I saw), the running time was approximately 1 hour 45 minutes.  Per the theater, the 3-D version added in another 10 or so minutes… 

…  In the 2-D version, you can see a handful of things like hands & feet thrust “outwards” towards the center of the screen, obviously done to “enhance” a “3-D” special-effect planned.  Would the extra 10 minutes & 3-D effects be “worth” the extra $ 3 to $ 4 surcharge for 3-D?  I DOUBT it-- but each person would need to decide on that individually…

…  What about the movie itself?...  I see NOTHING WRONG with doing a “CONTEMPORARY” documenting of an event.  It doesn’t matter to me that the subject is YOUNG--  it has an “immediacy” to the actions & reactions that you often can not get by the typical “hind-sight” views expressed in many documentaries…

…  The movie is about JUSTIN & the making & “selling” of a performer.  What about that “side” of it?...  I’ve seen him on TV talk shows such as Wendy Williams, & (as in the movie), he comes across as SINCERE & straightforward in what he says & how he acts: 

…  He clearly loves what he does (having done it since he was 5 or so), & (especially given the circumstances & his age & all), he does NOT seem to have a “big head” about himself…  He works really POWERFULLY at what he does…

…  In my opinion, Justin does not (at THIS time) have an especially “PLEASANT”-sounding quality to his voice & delivery (as, say, David Archuleta has).  But, what he does have is the ability to “SELL” a song excellently, thru HARD WORK & clear TALENT musically (in his playing & some of his writing) & his enthusiastic efforts at dancing choreography & all… 

…  Will his career “LAST”?  He has a lot of talented & dedicated people “behind” him (both family & managers & associates), & he seems to APPRECIATE them.  If he can keep a “level head” about it all, & CONTINUE to work hard, he’ll probably be able to “REINVENT” himself in different areas to continue a strong popularity (even if it’s not with “screaming fans” as it is now)…  

…  My REACTION to the movie?  The interviews with many of his young fans are often REPETITIVE, & there are some clearly “self-serving” elements to various segments…  But, that’s sort of to be “expected”, given the subject & the peoples’ ages involved & all…  

…  But, overall, I found the film surprisingly GOOD in capturing the “BACKGROUND” of his long-running interest -in and love-of performing.  You can “doubt” that it’s real, but, to me, the years of HOME VIDEOS show otherwise… 

…  Yes, they’re clearly working to “show” that he’s “PLAYFUL” & values the FANS who’ve made him successful.  But, what they offer in the film seems to show he really IS outgoing & appreciative of those around him.  He’s young, & we need to take that into “account”…

…  I found what they showed of his interactions with other people to be quite INTERESTING & well-done.  It’s not a “great” movie, but it’s very EFFECTIVE in capturing the story “behind” the entertainer & the work that goes into building & marketing a CAREER (especially for a youthful person in these days & times) & particularly the steps leading up to the main “event” being covered (namely, the MSG concert)…

…  So, tho people might be “shocked” & “upset” by the idea, since the movie was basically well-constructed & FUN, I’m rating the version I saw as 7.75 out of 10 stars…

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