The Idol Review: A sleazy porno with music and some terrible acting by The Weeknd

After a controversial behind-the-scenes story (arguably more interesting than the show) and five episodes of unfiltered nudity (and cringe), The Idol is finally over. The HBO original is streaming on Jio Cinema in India and if watching The Idol is the only reason for you to pay a month’s subscription on Mr Ambani’s app, then you would just be wasting your money. 

Set in the sleazy world of Hollywood, The Idol covers the rise of Lily Rose Depp’s Jocelyn, a performer who desires to be the next Madonna or Britney Spears. While Euphoria director Sam Levinson (the flagbearer of “male gaze”) sets up his chaotic world, we are introduced to Joceyln’s dedicated crew who try their best to make her the next big thing. And then enters Pedros, the ominous club manager-turned-cult leader with silky hair tied into a hilarious rat tail. 

Now, Abel Tesfaye AKA The Weeknd has cemented his bad boy position in his discography. His chart-topping career has found mainstream airplay even when the Canadian singer has unabashedly established himself as a cocaine-snorting, woman-cheating troublemaker. With The Weeknd not only starring in The Idol but also creating, writing and producing, he was also the chief reason why The Idol shifted from a female-led perspective to a more male gaze-y lens. 

While we would delve into Levinson and Weeknd’s twisted creative process later, it is worth noting what a treasure trove of cringe Pedros is. From uttering caricaturish lines straight out of an unscripted porn movie to trying his best to come off as this intimidating oddity, The Weeknd fails to channel his bad boy persona as Pedros. Ultimately, he comes off as a GTA Vice City cosplayer with the vocabulary of a high-schooler. 

You can’t help but squint and raise your eyebrows when The Weeknd tries to be sexy with lines like “stretch that tiny little p***y” or when he tries to sound intimidating by pursing his lips and repeating his lines.

In a particular episode, he even says, “I’m running the show”. Is The Idol incorporating self-aware humour? Even if it does, the joke is on itself. 

As expected, The Idol is filled with kinky sex scenes, complete with choking, slapping, and “cutting a slit through the cloth with which you were choking your partner”. All of these uncensored theatrics could have been used to convey the toxic romance that Pedros and Joceylyn share. But Jocelyn’s brokenness itself turns into a kink for Levinson who seems to derive some sort of bland pornographic shock value out of the numerous sex scenes instead of adding any sorts of emotion.

To quote a character from the pilot episode, “mental illness is sexy”. Levinson seems to have taken this (hopefully) satirical quote in the literal sense as the forced sexual chemistry between The Weeknd and Lily Rose Depp almost seems to glorify their mental insecurities. 

Depp’s Joceyln needs a guiding figure who can lead her to stardom and The Weeknd’s Pedros derives a high out of this god-like presence. It’s an interesting equation that is sadly too overdone and mediocre to flesh out in five sex-filled episodes. You do get an inkling that Levinson and Weeknd want to explore the toxic relationship behind a popstar but then they seem to be enjoying filming the sex scenes so much that they decided to make a big-budget porno instead!

The concerning lovemaking eventually becomes somewhat glorified, much like conventional straight guy porn. But the difference is that in the average porn movie, you are not expected to find any deep subtext or metaphors. The Idol, on the other hand, takes itself too seriously despite all the meme fodder it provides. And this is perhaps the series’s biggest flaw (among many other flaws). 

As mentioned earlier, The Weeknd has evolved as a musician, ocassionally delving into the deep, dark aspects of the price of stardom. But that image and that narrative cannot translate in a show that feels like a tasteless parody. It is worth noting how The Weeknd, Depp and their co-stars (there are some real talents here like Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy and singer Troye Sivan) can keep a straight face with the cringefest being filmed around them. 

This review, much like the show, delved more into Levinson and The Weeknd instead of the titular idol Lily Rose Depp herself. Perhaps that might explain how ultimately irrelevant and substandard her protagonist is. When it comes to “female characters written by men”, Levinson is ready to top the list with Jocelyn. 

While the director and writer still had a better (still controversial) track record with previous projects like Euphoria and Malcolm & Marie, the man tries to use The Idol as the finger to his critics. It wouldn’t come as a surprise as he made John David Washington’s character in Malcolm & Marie scream his lungs out against female critics (context-a female critic wrote against his movie Assassination Nation for sexualising its characters a tad bit too much).

ALSO READ: Revisiting Euphoria director Sam Levinson's red flags as The Idol gets accused of 'torture porn'

Even with Euphoria’s sophomore season in 2022, people began mocking Levinson for his unnecessary zoom-ins on Sydney Sweeney’s cleavage in Euphoria. 

But all of those controversies seem weak compared to how The Idol plays out. In the first episode itself, Depp’s heroine tells her manager that she disapproves of an on-set intimacy coordinator (spoiler-the intimacy coordinator is portrayed in an exaggerated manner like a more policeman and then locked in a closet by the manager). 

With all this being said, The Idol still has its redeeming elements like producer and frequent Weeknd collaboartor Mike Dean’s background score and a few of Weeknd’s original tracks for the soundtrack. Depp herself lends her vocals to a few pop numbers but all of them come off as unimpressive as her performance. 

So, you can spare yourself all the drama and just listen to the soundtrack instead. But if you do watch it, just know that you were warned. 

We’re going with 1.5 out of 5 stars for The Idol.