Variety: ‘The Idol’ reveals the ‘nonexistent’ acting skills of charisma-free The Weeknd

Sometimes, a piece of art is so bad that it brings out the absolute best from critics. So it is with Max’s The Idol, the show about The Weeknd trying to be a cult leader and Lily-Rose Depp is his cult follower and she’s a pop star or something. What was originally supposed to be a feminist story about a pop star breaking the shackles of a cult became something else entirely when they fired the female showrunner, hired Sam Leveson and gave him carte blanche to reshoot the series to make it more exploitive, more misogynistic and a hell of a lot stupider. Max actually premiered the show at the Cannes Film Festival, where critics reacted with revulsion. But did you know that The Idol also features completely sh-tty acting from The Weeknd? Some highlights from Variety’s amazing review, “On ‘The Idol,’ Why Are the Weeknd’s Acting Skills Nonexistent?” By Stephen Rodrick:

Horrific buzz: If you’ve spent the past three weeks in a coma or on Mastodon, “The Idol” is this summer’s buzzy show with all the buzz being horrific. Much of the bile has concentrated on the creepiness both on and off the set and my friends, they ain’t kidding.

The meet-cute: After 25 minutes of torture p0rn, Jocelyn — the worst moniker ever for a single named pop star — heads out to drink and dance the night away somewhere in West Hollywood. She ends up at a seedy and hip dance club where she does approximately 47 shots and dances to Madonna’s “Like a Prayer,” either the second or third on-the-nose shout at the audience that Jocelyn suggests is an outlaw feminist, the other being a Fiona Apple tune and — heavy sigh — shots of Sharon Stone in “Basic Instinct.” Tedros — seriously who picked these names? — spies her and heads over for a dance. Now, in publicity materials Tedros is described as charismatic, but Tesfaye moves into Deep’s realm with all the sexual energy of a sad Canadian repeatedly mumbling “sorry.”

Abel is not alone: I should note Weeknd’s performance is not alone in its badness on a show that is shot like an overlit snuff film. It’s just the one that grabbed me by the hoodie strings and refused to let go like a drunk breathing 3 a.m. Jager breath on you and asking if he can crash in your hotel room. The always great Hank Azaria plays an on-edge manager whose Israeli accent should be retired next to his longtime performance of Apu on “The Simpsons.” … But Azaria and Adams have credit it in the acting bank. All the Weeknd has is an appearance as “Himself” in Uncut Gems. (He was not believable). Charitably, you could blame his performance on his agent or the director but then you remember he is one of the creators of “The Idol.” He manufactured his own career poison pill! He is trying to play louche but just comes off, as one character describes him, “rapey.”

[From Variety]

You know who I kept thinking of as I read this? Madonna. Madonna is great at being Madonna. She’s great at giving life to this pop star creation named Madonna on stage and in interviews. Madonna is absolutely awful when she’s trying to be anyone other than Madonna, and she kept trying and trying to make her acting career happen and it was just soooo bad. That’s what this is – Abel seems to think that he’s a charismatic man who can play a charismatic cult leader/abuser and he’s just…not. He doesn’t have the range. He doesn’t have the talent or the charisma. And I love this for him too – he created this whole mess, he cast himself, the show was redone with his horribly misogynistic vision. He owns this entire catastrophe and I hope he never tries any of this sh-t ever again.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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32 Responses to “Variety: ‘The Idol’ reveals the ‘nonexistent’ acting skills of charisma-free The Weeknd”

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  1. mel says:

    So ya’ll didn’t figure out from his pretentious , charisma free and BORING Super Bowl halftime show that he’d a non-starter? I don’t even understand why he’s a pop star, basic voice with little to no range. Whatever…

  2. JustaLilNosey says:

    Abel has been reveling in the smell of his own farts for a while now. About time he has been humbled a bit.

  3. Ceej says:

    In uncut gems as “himself” (he was not believable)

    How I cackled.

  4. Normades says:

    This is gonna flop hard and I love that for all of them (except BlackPink’s Jennie; why is she even associated with this mess???).

  5. Mireille says:

    LOL! I can’t stop laughing at this review. No intention to watch this, BUT DAMMIT they need to Like a Prayer out of this mess!!!! That’s my favorite Madonna song and was ground-breaking and controversial in its own right. Don’t let Lily-Rose or The Weeknd anywhere near that song!!!

  6. Tiffany says:

    He will do it again, because HW will allow him to do it again.

    I never understood his appeal. The 1st song I heard from him was about only being attracted to a woman when he is high. But at least it had a catching beat to it. 😐

  7. Yup, Me says:

    Madonna was great in A League of their Own and Evita. I think being the lead in Evita (and her massive ego) made her think she should be the lead in everything thereafter and because she had the money and power from her music career, she was able to make it happen. That’s where she messed up.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I don’t know that I ever saw Evita, but I agree that she was great (and funny!) in A League of Their Own. Oh, and I liked her in Desperately Seeking Susan, but then she was essentially playing herself, wasn’t she?

    • Ana170 says:

      I haven’t seen Evita but in the movies I have seen her in, A League of their Own, Desperately Seeking Susan and Dick Tracy, she was basically playing versions of herself. And there’s not one of those roles where I didn’t think they could replace her and it wouldn’t make an iota of a difference.

  8. Lens says:

    I have to admit that variety review makes me really want to see this. I’m sure it will do great numbers. Still laughing about how The Weeknd was ‘moving with all the sexual energy of a sad Canadian repeatedly mumbling sorry’ on to Depp. Very good imagery there. He says his insult is all right because his wife and daughter are Canadian, okay?

  9. NEENA ZEE says:

    Hilarious and spot on. I watched the premier last night and it’s destined to become a camp classic like Showgirls. That level of awkwardness and poor casting. Lol

    • Mireille says:

      You and Lens make a great point. I change my mind. If it’s THAT BAD, I have to watch it…

  10. Isabella says:

    What a delicious review. And so accurate. I like Lily’s performance and her handlers are hilarious, but the show isn’t about them, once the Weekend shows up. Since she’s already a promiscuous pop star and he just owns a seedy nightclub, it’s hard to see how she needs his help, sexually or otherwise. I get that he dates supermodels in real life, but that’s because he’s the Weekend. No way would a mere nightclub owner get invited over to Selena’s house, which is what we’re supposed to believe here. And then she lets him blindfold her and fool around with a knife, even though they hardly know each other and she supposedly has trust issues. It’s all very ick.

    • Nic919 says:

      The lack of charisma is so obvious when he shows up. Prior to that there is a bit of a comedic edge, mostly because Jane Adams and Dan Levy do what they can, but once the focus is on the Weeknd, it just grinds to a halt. And this is despite all the mood lighting and loud music meant to create the atmosphere.

      This is going to be Showgirls bad.

  11. ariel says:

    Hey- Madonna was great at Susan- a kind of Madonna like character- with less money and more, well, character and hustle.
    Desperately Seeking Susan- worth a re-watch!

    This sounds like garbage- i wonder how many people will peek out of curiosity, i might if i had hbo right now (so expensive!!)

    • Deering24 says:

      Yeah, DSS is a fun time capsule of a movie. Haven’t seen it in a while…

  12. K says:

    That review was what I needed today. The Weeknd will definitely need all those bandages from his Superbowl performance. This review is cutting.

    • kirk says:

      “The Weeknd will definitely need all those bandages” for that review 😂😂😂

  13. Selene says:

    salió trasquilado!

  14. Nubia says:

    Well you can’t have it all, that’s what I always say when it comes to Beyonce’s acting, she is absolutely awful as an actress. You can see her trying to act, she just cant let go.

  15. Mandy says:

    I also watched the premiere last night with morbid curiosity…
    1. The first crime is you don’t care about any of these spoiled, narcissistic empty vessels. From the vapid nepo leading lady to the slimy Weeknd, you just can’t smolder your way thru every scene and expect us to feel anything but how bad and one dimensional this entire fiasco is.
    2. Posing, posing, posing…are we watching a Vogue fashion shoot or what?? Everything is cliche and self conscious.
    3. Boring

  16. WiththeAmericann says:

    They’re banking on hate watching to succeed, which is super pathetic. Sad to see people want to reward violent misogyny still, but I guess torture p @ 3 n is still a cultural value.

  17. Hello Kitty says:

    I tolerated him until he had extensive plastic surgery and hyped it up as a “art” and “meta” and “deep” Boy we can see you had plastic surgery, we’re not stupid. Plus there’s literally nothing you could say or do that would be thought-provoking to me.

  18. Anne Keane says:

    As a critic said when reviewing a film starring a musician turned actor (I forget who) : ‘Mr X says he has never acted. That is still the case.’

  19. j.ferber says:

    Is he still dating Bella Hadid? He seems like such a misogynistic jerk.

  20. Mimi says:

    Just putting it out there, Tedros, is a shout out to his Ethiopian heritage most likely. As it’s a fairly common name in Ethiopia for men. It means “Gift of God.” Which is pretty “on brand” for a character who’s a cult leader. Guys I knew growing up named Tedros, would just go by Teddy to make it more palatable for others.

  21. The Recluse says:

    Executives killed Batgirl, featuring Michael Keaton, but go ahead and air something like this….
    Ugh.

  22. Eowyn says:

    As a Canadian, that’s a good Canada joke.

  23. Eve Pane says:

    Like every few hit wonder who thinks his fame will last forever.
    He’s on 13 of his 15 minutes of fame.

  24. Abbie says:

    Do people not listen to lyrics of songs anymore?
    His songs are horrible misogynistic crap. Horrible.
    The tunes are catchy and the beat is great, but holly hell if only I did not understand English, you know?
    How the hell no one saw this coming is beyond me, and also the fact he gets so much support and fans despite the repulsive way he writes about women just shows patriarchy is alive and well…