I was a teenager when Lonely Island were big, so they were right up my alley at the time. Now, I feel like half their initial catalogue has diminished, with a few songs ('Jack Sparrow', 'Boombox') still standing strong against the waves of time and maturity.
'Popstar' also isn't as good as I remember, though I think for different reasons. In an age where pop culture and even politics are brought to a an extreme where satire feels pointless, I can't help but feel that the point of the film is diminished.
So what's left are the songs, and few comedy sequences that still hold out. Fortunately, the songs are (mostly) fantastic. The 'Bin Laden' song in particular is so absurdly funny that it's almost worth watching the movie alone for it. There's a few that didn't make it to the film as well, to be found on their YouTube channel.
Quite a few of the jokes are funny, until they're overexplained after they land (as in, the jokes are made and then there's an extra line or two that seems rather superfluous, unneeded, and I'd go as far as to say redundant).
The film is such a snapshot of what celebrity culture was like in the mid-2010s, even extending to the landscape of American comedy with its relentless cameos.
So, regarding that aspect, and remembering how much fun I had the first time watching at release, I do hold the film in a higher regard than it probably deserves.
