Justin Bieber’s Believe is eye candy for the fans

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      Featuring Justin Bieber. Rated G. Now playing

      All the fuss is moot now that Justin Bieber has announced his retirement. Retirement? I can hear what Frank Sinatra, late master of the faux hiatus, would say: “Forget it, kid. I got hair plugs older than you, and they’re still workin’!”

      Of course, Bieb manager Scooter Braun has since explained that his ward was just kidding around—and it’s good to know that the 19-year-old phenom can rely on clarification from a man called Scooter. Braun, who also reps Carly Rae Jepsen, produced this quick-moving concert documentary, along with Bieber and R & B star Usher Raymond. They don’t pretend it’s anything more than a glorified tour program, and, as such, it won’t appeal to people unlikely to attend a Bieber event, except perhaps while chaperoning kids too young to go on their own.

      Director Jon M. Chu, who handled the previous Bieber movie and also designed the truly spectacular Believe tour we follow (with most footage coming from a Miami show), strikes a good balance between interviews, concert numbers, rehearsals with talented dancers, and interesting studio time, with the Ontario-born singer improvising for producers like will.i.am and Rodney Jerkins.

      Beside old home movies of pre-tattoo Bieber, there are snippets of fan footage, including one of a preteen girl squealing at her parents’ surprise gift of JB tickets. “That’s enough now,” you hear the dad say, off camera. “Really, that’s enough.” Someone should have said that to Chu, who at one point alternates images of screaming stadium tweens with black-and-white footage of Beatlemaniacs in full cry. The parallel makes some kind of sense, playing on manipulable emotions that are always with us; but it’s also a shameful attempt to coattail a lesser artist to a level of communion that young Brown Eyes and his Beliebers are unlikely to achieve.

      Our subject doesn’t come off as particularly articulate or thoughtful, but he may be capable of outgrowing his current pallid fare and reaching for more. The unquantifiable nature of belief in the vaguely possible is constantly touched upon here, on-stage and off. That’s why the movie’s not called Know for Sure.

      Comments

      4 Comments

      Arm Chair

      Dec 27, 2013 at 2:15pm

      hope this kid isn't a Canadian

      Good kid

      Dec 29, 2013 at 1:10pm

      @ Arm Chair. Yes, he is Canadian.Which is great aside from his recent antics . He has achieved incredible success at such an early age.Far beyond what is fathomable and attainable by an average person.
      I prefer hi to a crack smoking out of shape politician.

      charlie

      Dec 29, 2013 at 1:14pm

      please don't retire Justin your going to hurt so many fans I am your biggest fan ever I love u Justin I would die to meet u xx

      in my humble opinion...

      Dec 30, 2013 at 8:47pm

      If he retires that would be one of the smartest things he's ever done.

      @Good kid: WTF?! Justin is an international joke and a disgrace to Canadians. If any kid looks up to him for his immature, morally abject, dishonourable, degrading, pathetic antics to seek attention for corruption or success as you put it--, they're alll lost causes. Justin is a byproduct of his parents who franchised him for financial gain.