Fridae

So let me begin this review by saying that the Canadian teen singer has genuine talent. There is no doubt that despite his undeveloped pre-adolescent voice, the kid has perfect pitch and a great sense of timing. That, and a PR machine – which explains why teenage girls aren’t screaming their heads off at that self-taught Korean teen guitarist on Youtube or those creepy North Korean girls in pigtails and glassy-eyed smiles who perform for VIP tourists.

But if you’re watching Justin Bieber: Never say never, you don’t want to know about the well-oiled idol-making machine (in this case, LA Reid’s Island Records empire) in the room. You want to be reminded constantly of the youth of Justin Bieber, his burgeoning talent, and his authenticity as a person who merely happens to be a celebrity – and not respond with any cynicism that like any other teen idol, he’s just a manufactured star.

Jon Chu (Step Up 2, Step Up 3D), authorised to shoot this documentary/biopic, delivers all three requirements. The director weaves together countless home videos of baby to pre-internet fame Justin playing every musical instrument in his spare time, a travelogue of the road tour leading to Justin Bieber’s sell-out concert at Madison Square Garden, and 3D footage of the concert itself.

There’s some drama (Justin gets strap throat days before the concert), some humanising interviews with his family to reassure fans that Justin’s not a boybot or a replicant (despite his too-choreographed moves on stage, too familiar to fans of Korean pop bands), several shout-outs to his early fans on social networks, a gratuitous amount of Justin Bieber shritless shots and some Abercrombie product placements to titillate his fans. There are even a few self-mocking moments like a montage of Justin getting mobbed by fans to the strains of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” and a few visually stunning moments where Chu pays tribute to a whole host of Youtube fan reaction clips.

The cynic in me feels Jon Chu does all this so you won’t ask a bunch of questions that his documentary won’t inquire or reveal. When exactly is Bieber’s voice going to break? Where is the dance choreographer in Justin Bieber’s otherwise well-documented concert management team? How much of Justin Bieber the pop idol is groomed? How was it like for Justin Bieber to grow up having every moment of life seemingly being filmed on home video by his family? What does Island Records have in store for a teen idol its execs describe as “the Macaulay Culkin of pop”?

If it was designed to keep the Justin Bieber personality cult going, this film probably does its job well. As to whether Justin Bieber ends up in a few years as the next Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, or Ayumi Hamasaki or even the next Justin Timberlake (transitioning to a far superior acting career), you’d want to say you watched this when Justin Bieber was the breakout teen singing sensation.