The masthead of this blog says "Don't be afraid of great cinema!". In the interest of truth-in-advertising, I'm just going to come right out and tell you that neither of these films qualifies as great cinema; however, when you have a ten-year-old daughter, sometimes you have to take what's handed to you.
We took her to see Justin Bieber: Never Say Never for her birthday. She and her friends were impressed and would like to see it again. Given that they're the target audience (and I'm not), I'll defer to their critical acumen on this one.
Later that evening, after putting the birthday girl to bed, my wife asked me what *I* thought of the movie. I said, "You know, it really reminds me of ABBA: The Movie (which my wife hasn't seen). Neither is a concert film—though each has plenty of live footage. Neither is really a documentary, either—though, again, that element is certainly present. What they are is propaganda pieces, each one intended to advocate for its particular subject. In each case, the music is infectious, the personalities appealing. In each case, we are repeatedly reminded that the artists are clean.
Clean? In ABBA: The Movie, ABBA are asked by a reporter if they drink or do drugs: drinking, yes, but no drugs. Later, during a series of "man-on-the-street" interviews, passersby are asked what it is that they like about the group. More than once, we are told that they are "clean". In the case of Justin Bieber, the presumed cleanliness goes unverbalised, but it is certainly on display. No drugs and no alcohol (after all, he's under 21!) and abundant group-prayer. The message is clear: these are artists who won't upset the community's values. They're safe.
All of which begs the question: so what? Not much, so long as we don't mind paying for what amount to long-form advertisements. Both films offer plenty of entertainment value and, when it comes to this sort of enterprise, entertainment is what it's all about after all.
Justin Bieber's film has the added pizzazz of being in 3D, but ABBA's has songs that we're still listening to thirty years later. Let's see if Justin can match that!
