Why is Sam Levinson’s “The Idol” so hated by critics? From the episodes that I’ve seen it’s a trashy good time and it’s all slickly rendered by “Euphoria” creator.
The six-episode HBO series premieres on June 4th. It screened two episodes last week at Cannes, but was roasted by all of those who saw it. I spoke to a critic from Les Cahiers du Cinema who agreed with my sentiments that it’s a well-made and entertaining piece of pop art.
As it goes, and if the rating stands, “The Idol” is set to be the worst-reviewed show in HBO history. It currently has a 27% rotten rating, not to mention its 24 Metascore. I believe the transgressive nature of “The Idol” has riled critics up.
Christina Newland from iNews describes the show as “one of the most unapologetically chauvinistic, superficially glossy, try-hard-provocative pieces of media in recent memory.”
Aren’t your intrigued?
It’s fascinatingly self-indulgent act of pop art on the part of Levinson. Drugs, dancing, nihilism, narcissism and lots of sex. All shot in vibrantly stylized frames.
The show, which was co-created by Levinson and Abel Tesfaye (aka The Weeknd) stars Lily-Rose Depp as a pop star Jocelyn who falls hard for a self-help guru/cult leader named Tedros (Tesfaye). He gets his grip on her and she embarks on a journey of sexual self-discovery.
“The Idol” isn’t supposed to be a treatise on how the music industry operates, it’s pure fantasy, and that’s what critics don’t seem to be getting. It’s trashy entertainment, albeit shot in visually stunning fashion. Some of the framing and blocking Levinson concocts here is very impressive.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.