Ok, so JAFO went today to see the Justin Bieber movie Never Say Never and even popped for the extra bucks for the 3D version. As a full-time single dad of a 10 1/2 year old girl I kinda couldn't get out of it. And I have to say, I'm not missing the $42.50 I dropped at the local megaplex ($23.00 for the tickets, $19.50 for a large popcorn and two large diet sodas). Before watching this movie with my daughter I thought she was a big, but casual, JB fan. After watching this movie with her I have learned that if she met him there would probably be nothing left of the kid but his shoestrings
The movie centers around JB's sold-out August 31, 2010 Madison Square Gardens concert and his life leading up to the show. This is NOT a concert movie like the Hannah Montana 3D movie. This is a movie about Justin's life and rise to teen stardom and includes performance clips from his sold-out MSG show. The movie begins with a screen shot of someone sending a youtube clip of a young, unknown Justin singing and moves at lightning speed to his MSG show. Along the way you see a real transformation - not of Justin, but of the public's awareness of who this kid is and how big of a star he becomes. He is a true overnight success in the tradition of your favorite rock star of the past - it took a couple of years worth of hard work to become an "overnight" success. And he did it without one of the two "kid" TV network machines behind him, pushing him. And he didn't even have one of those horrible "showbiz" moms driving him to death so that she could cash in (check out her Christian testimony - I'm not trying to push it down your throat, but she comes across as a good mom who really loves her son).
The 3D work in the movie is top-notch. It's not overdone and the 3D clips only add to the experience. One of the best 3D clips shows JB flipping his trademark hair from side to side - and the fact that he's poking fun at himself goes right over the head of every 'tween girl in the audience! The concert clips are extremely well done. There's enough concert footage to satisfy the fans and enough backstory to keep the parents from OD'ing on popcorn (does every movie theatre allow you to put the yellow grease on your popcorn???)
Overall, JAFO has to give this movie a thumbs up. If you have a 'tween or teen daughter who loves this kid and absolutely-without-a-doubt HAS to see this movie, take her. You'll enjoy the movie. I did. And if you're like me, you'll get to see a whole 'nother side of your daughter that you didn't even know existed - she shushed me sternly the two times I made the mistake of trying to ask her how she was liking it. And that's about the best that any movie could ask for
Justin Bieber - Never Say Never 3D
