10 Things I Learned from the Justin Bieber Movie

I saw the movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never today. It wasn't on my list of must-see films, but my son (who is certain that he is the next Justin Bieber)  wanted to go and since he can't get there on his own yet, I took him. Honestly, prior to this movie, I knew very little about Little Boy Bieber. I knew he was a YouTube sensation, and I knew he was now a favorite of pre-teen girls.  Oh yeah, and he sings. That's about it.

So, I went into the movie without many preconceived ideas about him.  In fact, the only thing I was expecting when I went to the movie was that I probably wouldn't enjoy the movie, but it wouldn't be the first thing I have done just to make one of my children happy. I'll admit that I was pleasantly surprised, even though I wanted to grab him by the collar a few times and scream, "Young man, will you please pull up your pants?!"  Yes, I know.  That's the official litmus test for "old."

For the rest of you who are old, too (at least by Bieber-fan standards), here's a list of interesting things I learned from the movie.  Now you can seem hip to your children and grandchildren without having to see the movie yourself.  Consider this a public service.

1. Justin Bieber seems like a very nice, wholesome young man. The rock star drug and alcohol culture has not adulterated his innocence.  That is very refreshing.
2. Justin Bieber's favorite color is purple.  I love purple, too!
3. Justin Bieber was raised as a Christian, and he and his team pray before every concert. The movie also showed his mother praying with him for healing when he was sick, and we saw him and his friends praying before eating pizza at a pizza parlor - without adult prompting. That was very nice to see. I felt a little better for the younger generation.
4. He really can sing. This may sound like a no-brainer, but there are lots of music stars who can't, ya know.
5. The recording artist Usher played a significant role in Justin's success. Usher's commitment to help a young performer is admirable.
6. At every concert, when Justin sings One Less Lonely Girl, his staff picks a random girl from the audience to come on stage and be serenaded by him. Yes, I felt a lump in my throat to see those girls so happy at such a sweet gesture, until I realized that while the girl on stage felt special, she was now hated by 50,000 other girls in the audience. Security!
7. At every concert, Justin's staff goes outside before the concert and gives away free tickets to groups of girls and families. And not just any tickets, but excellent floor seats right up front.  Very nice.
8. Justin Bieber is very close to his grandparents, particularly his grandfather. I hope he always appreciates what a wonderful gift his grandparents are.
9. When he's home, Justin Bieber has to clean his room before he can go out with his friends, too. I wanted to applaud when I heard his grandmother say, "Not until you clean your room!"  Yes, I pointed this out to my son. I want him to know that he really is like Justin Bieber.
10. Justin Bieber works very hard. His life may look glamorous, but he is developing a nice work ethic, and he's definitely learning that the life he's living is not all fun and games, and that sometimes you have to work even when you don't want to and you don't feel like it. It's an important lesson to learn, but part of me is very sad for him that he has to learn it so young. Sure, he has fame and wealth, but he'll never know what it's like to go to high school every day looking forward to seeing that cute girl in Algebra class.  He'll never experience the Prom like other kids do, or a dance after a football game, or hundreds of other experiences (both good and not-so-good) that make the teen years special.

Now I have a word of advice for teen boys.  Put on a Justin Bieber t-shirt and get to a Bieber concert.  Why? Because there are thousands of teen girls there looking for love, and virtually no guys. And learning how to do the Bieber hair flick wouldn't hurt either.