Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Review: Film - Justin Bieber: Never Say Never

Movie: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
Release Date: February 11, 2011
When Justin Bieber was first hitting the talk show circuit to promote his docu-concert film, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, in the first part of 2011, I heard great things about it. And what actually made me want to see it was Ellen DeGeneres. If you know anything about me, you'll know that Ellen is not only my favorite comedian, but also my favorite celebrity and favorite well-known person in general. Justin was on her talk show to promote the film. And Ellen couldn't say enough positive comments about it.

Keep in mind, this was way before I started Bieber Guy and way before I had listened to most of his music. Ellen said that even if you're not a fan, you should still see this movie because it is so inspiring. And out of all these things that she said, it made me want to see it. So you know what? I did just that recently.


Justin Bieber: Never Say Never starts off with Justin performing "Love Me," which is a fabulous song, by the way. There are interviews with his mother, grandparents and others. He also performs "Bigger."

"U Smile" with the Boyz II Men is next. At his grandparent's house, they still make him clean his room (good for you, grandparents!). We see him hanging out with friends.

The next song is "Eenie Meenie" with Sean Kingston. After this, we are treated to a sort of timeline throughout the film of showing where Justin came from, how he got his start and all that.

They talk about Stratford Star, a local talent competition he participated in, and in which the videos of him went on YouTube. Another song is "Runaway Love."

After he is discovered, we see a video of Justin singing for Usher. L.A. Reid signs him. They record "One Time," which transitions into Justin performing said song on stage. They promote "One Time" on radio and Twitter.

Another song performed is "Somebody to Love" with Usher. By the way, all these performances are done at Madison Square Garden!

One of my favorite moments in the entire film is when Justin's mom and his manager, Scooter Braun, go out on the streets and hand out 10-12 tickets to fans who would want to see the concert but don't have tickets. I was blown away by seeing this because it goes to show that his team have never forgotten that it is all about the fans. And it's cute when they recognize who it is handing over the tickets.

Another fan type moment that stood out to me was when he did "One Less Lonely Girl." Someone on his team goes out into the arena and picks out a girl in the audience who wants to be the One Less Lonely Girl. That girl comes on stage and is serenaded by Justin and given flowers when Justin performs that particular song. Again, it's all about the fans, which I love. Whoever comes up with these sorts of ideas is a genius, really.

At one point, Justin has vocal problems as he's preparing for the MSG show. They call in a specialist and his vocal coach, Mama Jan, is extremely tough on him. I like that she's tough on him. She is able to give some perspective to an immature teen.

Another song performed is "Never Let You Go," where Justin is on a metal heart above the crowd. His voice is particularly strong here. Miley Cyrus joins him on "Overboard," which was very romanticized between them, which I didn't really like. Jaden Smith joins in on "Never Say Never." "Down to Earth" is very moving and inspiring; there was a moment where I actually teared up a little bit. It's my favorite JB song, out of them all. During "Baby," Ludacris does the rap.

There are a few special features on the DVD. There's the Concert Dance-Off, where we see Justin's dancers showing what they can do. We also get the full-length performance of "Favorite Girl." RIP Flip Hair shows when Justin had his locks cut off. And Giving Back shows an extended look at when Scooter and Justin's mom handed out tickets.

I'm not going to beat around the bush at all on this. Overall, I loved this docu-concert film. If I had to give it a grade, I would give it an A-. I loved the MSG performances, as well as the "life story" aspect of showing how he started and everything that led up to that major MSG show, which included home video footage when he was younger (he was a cute little kid!). My only main problem was that during some of the MSG performances, they cut into the songs with interviews. That's all in editing, so that part wasn't my favorite.



To find out the latest TV, movie and entertainment news, visit Bieber Guy's partner sites, TV Watch Online and the TV Watch Online BLOG (follow T.W.O. on Twitter @TVWatchOnline). And check out my new personal blog, Jeff Dodge Blog, where I share my writing journey, thoughts, opinions, recommendations and more. You can follow that blog's Twitter @TheJeffDodge.

The next review will be for Justin's Never Say Never: The Remixes album.

To stay updated on everything related to Bieber Guy and when the next blog and/or review will be online, follow me on Twitter @Bieber_Guy.

Bieber Guy My World Reviews: "One Time" (Updated) / "One Less Lonely Girl" / "Love Me" & "Favorite Girl" / My World EP

Bieber Guy My World 2.0 Reviews: "Baby" / "Never Let You Go" / My World 2.0 Part 1/Part 2/Part 3 / "Somebody to Love" / "U Smile"

Bieber Guy Book Review: First Step 2 Forever

Bieber Guy My Worlds Acoustic Reviews: My Worlds Acoustic / "Pray"

Bieber Guy Never Say Never: The Remixes Reviews: "Never Say Never"

Bieber Guy Under The Mistletoe Reviews: "Mistletoe" / "The Christmas Song" / Under The Mistletoe Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

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