Jonah Naplan   October 11, 2024

Documentarian Morgan Neville works hand-in-hand with rapper Pharrell Williams to tell the musician’s life story in the newest LEGO movie “Piece by Piece,” an exotic, unconditional yet considerably straightforward project that isn’t exactly as artistically ingenious as it thinks it is. Coming off the back of a premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, it’s difficult to tell who “Piece by Piece” is actually for now that it has been wide-released. It’s not exactly a “kids movie,” considering its mature themes and use of expletives, but it’s definitely not for adults either. Among other examples of the film’s aimless intent, Neville can’t seem to figure out who his message is directed towards or why they need to hear it, despite taking several creative avenues and flushing the screen with frequent bursts of imagination.

The movie opens the same way a traditional documentary would, with a handheld camera tracking its principle subject as he’s caught in a spontaneous moment. A LEGO minifigure portrait of Pharrell (the soft-spoken voice of himself) walks through his home and enters a room set up with cameras to sit down in a chair across from a LEGO Morgan Neville in an interview. Throughout, “Piece by Piece” will continue to revel in meta “documentary” clichés like this one, hashing a story out of romanticized flashbacks and “talking head” montages with Pharrell’s own parents and various contributing figures to his success such as Chad Hugo, Pusha T, Snoop Dogg, Justin Timberlake, and Missy Elliott (all rendered in LEGO). It sweetly recounts his childhood in Virginia Beach, his growth into a young man, searching for a purpose and a gig, and eventual evolution into a worldwide phenomenon with the release of his catchy hit “Happy” from 2013.

The film’s rationale for building itself brick by brick, entirely in LEGO, is expressed sufficiently, if not entirely credibly. Pharrell explains at the very beginning that he felt his story could only best be told through a medium that holds, theoretically speaking, no limits, and while that may be a thoughtful assertion, surprisingly little is done to justify his choice, given that the story is relatively straightforward at best. Removed from any unconditional artistic notions, “Piece by Piece” is just a music biopic with the same overly familiar beats. Pharrell arises from humble beginnings, finds sudden success, rides the wavelength of fame for a little while, stops to consider his place in life, realizes his arrogance, and then tries again from a new point of view. There’s nuances to be found within this archaic mold but they’re few and far between.

Once Neville ushers in the creation of Pharrell’s teen rock band, affectionately named “The Neptunes,” “Piece by Piece” begins to sort itself out, hinting at the emergence of an artist’s love for craft and execution, putting yourself out there creatively in opposition to “fitting in,” and the mesmerizing feeling that music can wash over you. Rap and hip-hop fans will likely appreciate the tributes this movie pays to the genre’s most prolific artists, between Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and many more. It’s a multiverse-level collaboration event.

To that point, “Piece by Piece” ultimately ends up working because its heart is in the right place and it knows who and what the audience wants to see. And yet, there’s no singular moment where the movie becomes a nigh-invulnerable piece of “fan service” that throws out names and faces just for the sake of an audience reaction. All these people are here because they’re integral to the story and because Pharrell wouldn’t be the Pharrell we know today without them. But the whimsy of the movie is derived from its best parts: brief, imaginative bursts of color and sound that transport us inside the mind of the artist, putting his psychological compass on display as he activates sparks of inspiration, flickers of passion, and dark clouds of self-doubt. The generalized nature of the central plot doesn’t allow much room for these bits that really hit, a major disappointment considering their thematic power.

All the voice acting is well-done, a standard to be anticipated since the vast majority of the characters are played by their real-life counterparts. The star of the show, Williams, in particular, commissions not just his voice but his whole soul into this project and that in and of itself is a feat to be commended. And yet, the fictional Pharrell on-screen never feels quite as raw, positioned (possibly unintentionally) as a fantastical being who seemingly became an overnight success and can compose a smashing single at the snap of a finger. The movie never dives deep into his writing process and seems to suggest that Pharrell’s god-given “gift” manifests instant hits, which is likely not the actual case.

There ends up being little innovation present anywhere in “Piece by Piece,” an ambitious movie with some powerful visuals and a big heart, but misguided intentions and an overplayed story that had the potential to be revitalized through a fresh medium but is still just the same old, same old. Of course, it’s the thought that counts with a movie like this, but not all the bricks click into place.

Now playing in theaters.