A mere 10 days ago, I did the unthinkable. I bought tickets to the opening night of Justin Bieber’s film Never Say Never. My kids aren’t super into Justin, although they know his music and sing along when he pops onto Radio Disney. I had heard that the movie was part documentary and it seemed very interesting, so I thought we’d do our part to support teen stardom and get us some “Beiber Fever”.
I had joked with co-workers that I didn’t know if I was ready for a night of squealing teen girls … and oh my, I certainly wasn’t, but we’ll circle back around to that.
Here’s the official trailer:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COJCN3Mhr14[/youtube]
The movie itself was very good. I really enjoyed it and so did the kids. It was interesting to learn about Justin’s family (his mother had him when she was a teen; very supportive grandparents) and how they are surrounding him with the “right” people. You meet his agent, stylist, vocal coach and security guard. All of them have a vested interest in his career, of course, but you can also see a geniune concern of him as a kid. Each of them are almost like a second set of parents. A true support system for his blood relatives.
Viewers also get a glimpse into the faith of Justin and his family. One scene shows Justin in his hometown with his friends. They visit a pizza shop for lunch and pray before they eat their food. Another scene shows Justin’s mom praying over him for healing when he was suffering with throat issues/infection. One of the statements during prayer that stayed with me was said by Justin’s mother at a later point in the film. I’m paraphrasing (because I can’t remember her exact words), but she says “Lord, help us know the right decisions to make for JUSTIN’s best interest.” Those words showed me that she is relying on direction from God for help in raising a son that can get eaten alive by an industry that devours teen stars left and right.
As for Justin himself and what you learn of him, I can honestly say that he appears to be a great kid. You see his nerves before he goes on stage. You see his teenage boy side when he’s playing basketball with friends from home. You also see his determination to be a great artist and to learn from the best.
At the end of the movie, viewers are taken to a concert in NYC at Madison Square Garden. It was very impressive. I was surprised at how much of his music I knew and the kids knew. Although you are seeing a lot of Justin on stage, you also get to glimpse into what’s going on backstage while the concert’s going on. It was a very cool insider perspective.
Now, with that said, the crowd in our theater was out-of-control. There was a section of 8-10 late jr. high/early high school girls with no adult supervision. They squealed over and over and over. We missed much of the dialouge early on in the movie. I rarely complain to a manager, but in this case I did … as did many others. Instaed of management doing something about it, they chose to refund our money so that we can see it again. (Apparently, unruly theaters are NOT the norm for this film.) We’ll be catching it again next weekend and hopefully I’ll leave sans migraine!
So, to sum it up, the film was great. Family friendly would be almost an understatement! I’d recommend it to anyone that likes pop music, although if you have the choice – skip the 3D. It doesn’t add much.
My kids had a ball, and frankly, after seeing the film – I feel very good about them looking up to a star like Justin Beiber. We spent a lot of the morning downloading and listening to his music. I think we might have a slight case of “the fever.”
Our favorite song, “One Less Lonely Girl”.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXUSaVw3Mvk[/youtube]
