The movie starts out panning over home movie clips from Bieber’s childhood. In the videos it actually proves that he does have good rhythm and pitch with his ability to keep a consistent rhythm. Quite frankly he’s adorable as little toddler. In one video, he is 3 or 4 I believe, and he manages to keep a rhythm by drumming with his palms on a wooden chair.
The movie then alternates back and forth between three different points of view. Starting with Home videos of Justin’s childhood and how it is related to him being a musician/artist today, Bieber on his national tour which leads up to his Madison Square Garden debut, and the third set of clips are clips of the actual Madison Square Garden concert itself. The constant switching between the different kinds of video clips keeps it fresh. The clips of him on his tour prior to Madison Square Garden are all clips of him not performing but rather his down time and showing that Bieber is a human being as well. The clips of his childhood present ideas of his personality and ideas of who Bieber is and what he embodies. (ie talent, gift for music, easy going guy, a person loyal to his fans, ect.)
The film documents how Bieber was discovered. Bieber was discovered after he uploaded various youtube videos which eventually made their way to Scooter Braun who discovered him and flew him to Atlanta, Georgia. From there Scooter has been his acting manager and has tried to launch Bieber’s career by travelling and convincing radio stations and DJs that Bieber has a voice and that he shouldn’t have to go through Disney or Nickelodeon factories to become a star. However, it wasn’t until Usher sat down and listened to Bieber singing that there was a campaign for Bieber to get his own record deal. Bieber was eventually signed to a label and the rest is history. It really is quite inspirational, in that the movie humanizes Justin Bieber and his rise to stardom.
Justin Bieber is the subject of many questionable criticisms, from his appeal to prepubescent teenage girls, how he hits such high notes and rumors that he hasn't actually gone through puberty (which really isn’t anyone’s concern). Most of these can be attributed to a bias against him. Despite this, the documentary wasn't objective either. It was skewed to highlight Bieber in a positive light. We haven’t learned much about Bieber at all. Except that Bieber is human and does indeed have rhythm and pitch.
The movie finally culminates with a new song, Never Say Never, which to a degree is pretty inspirational and not like his other songs which appeal strictly to prepubescent girls.
What really frosted my cookies was the whole 3D thing. The only scenes where 3D was used were when random fangirls would wave their arms in the concert clips.
So what did we learn from this experience?
- Bieber actually has musical talent besides his song composition appealing to females
- Bieber is a human being; decent, kind-hearted and devoted to his fans.
- …. Uh, okay I think that’s it.
Aside from that the movie had a lot of fluff and was quite repetitive. Overall, I’d rate the film a 4 out of 10. The harsh score is due to it being in 3D when it had no reason to be, its excessive length and the repetitiveness of its message. Aside from those things, it was bearable, despite making you drowsy at times. If you must watch this, wait for it to appear on television. No one (except his fans) should be paying to see it in theaters.
Honestly the movie was not as bad as it could have been. However having watched it, I believe that Justin Bieber could make some truly great music if he has the time and the resources to do so. Up until now he has been a factory, pumping out music to a very specific audience so he can sell records. I feel that now after making money and building up a fan base he will produce different and more meaningful songs in the future.
