We were sitting around having dinner one night, and my son was making fun of my daughter for liking Justin Bieber. Now, I'll admit I've been guilty of this many times my own self.
Every time a song of his would come on, I'd turn to my daughter and say, "Man, that girl can really sing."
She didn't think it was nearly as funny as I did. Especially after the 50th time.
Anyway, not liking to see her brother making fun of her, I promised to take her to see the Justin Bieber film "Never Say Never." When she asked if I'd take her to the midnight show, her brother laughed and said, "Dad will never go to a midnight show of that."
So I looked right at my daughter and said, "Absolutely." Besides, midnight show, months away, on a school night. Really, what were the odds of that ever happening?
That's what I was thinking as I sat at the AMC Theaters in Downtown Disney one minute after midnight Friday morning watching the movie with my daughter and her friend and a theater full of Justin Bieber fans.
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| Midnight. Seventh circle of hell. |
I liked the movie.
Not going to go so far as saying I caught Bieber fever, but I will say my perception of who he was going in was changed by the time I walked out.
The first thing that struck me peculiar was the audience. I'd expected a theater full of screaming 11, 12 and 13 year-old girls with their parents snoring loudly in the seat next to them. Not the case at all. The audience was a cross section of tweens, teens, and surprisingly many, many adult Beiber fans.
I understand that you always have to keep in mind the filmmakers are showing you exactly what they want you to see. However, as the film - a combination of documentary and concert footage, home movies and interviews unfolds, what I realized is even though I don't like most of his music, Justin Bieber is a crazy talented kid.
It would appear he is surrounded by people who genuinely care about him, as opposed to someone like Michael Jackson who was surrounded by people who only knew how to say yes to anything he wanted. The dangers of surrounding yourself with people like that are tragically obvious.
No adult in this movie - in particular the tough-as-nails vocal coach who travels on tour with him - has a problem saying no to Justin. He's not the Golden Goose to them. He's a kid, and they're trying to protect as much of that as they can given the extraordinary circumstances he finds himself in. (Yes, I know they're all out of jobs if something happens to him, but that doesn't seem to be their main motivation).
Before I said I don't like most of his music. I've only been exposed to the songs my daughter plays over and over. But in the film there are other songs, many of which I liked.
Owen Gleiberman has an interesting take on it in a piece he wrote for Entertainment Weekly. He makes a lot of good points, but this is the part I think I agree with most:
A lot of people, in other words, hate Justin Bieber because they’re scared of him. Scared of the power that teen pop now wields in our world. But I’m here to tell you that they’ve got it backwards. Justin Bieber isn’t just a product; he’s a genuine, talented, true-blue appealing star. They have pinned their fear and loathing on the wrong phenomenon.
I know I'm going to get a lot of comments and razzing for liking the movie. It's okay, I can take it. And I'll answer them all.
Right after I get back from seeing the movie again with my daughter. And her brother.
