Max’s The Idol first episode streamed last night and the reviews are beyond MEH…
The series stars Lily-Rose Depp as a pop star who has come through a mental health crisis and gets seduced by a hipster self-help guru /cult leader/ club owner played by Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.
When two episodes debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last month last month it got savage reviews.
Referencing the cult classic (which today would be cancelled) The Wow Report‘s Andrea James posted,
I wasn’t the only one who caught the ‘Showgirls’ vibe…”
Yep. But Showgirls was created as a real drama and only became satirical by viewing it through a camp culture lens. So what kind of story is the The Idol trying to tell? If it’s satire, it certainly uses real sex and violence in an un-jokey way.
According to Rolling Stone, the sex and nudity was amped up to a disturbing degree,
Nasty, brutish, [feels] much longer than it is, and way, way worse than you’d have anticipated.
MEMO TO SHOWRUNNERS: When in doubt about your lead character, just cut to her masturbating while choking herself.”
–Rolling Stone
Jo-Ann Titchmars at The Evening Standard writes,
The extremely troubling issue with The Idol is its depiction of women.
As Jocelyn, Depp spends most of her time semi-naked, either dancing (after two episodes, I feel like I could have a decent go at her music video choreography, which is shown repeatedly) or performing sex acts.
NPR‘s Eris Deggans says,
Some may focus on the bizarrely erotic scene that closes the first episode, where Tedros covers Jocelyn’s head with her robe, whips out a knife and cuts a hole in it where her mouth is (like I said, this show is not subtle).
But that moment seems so cartoonishly provocative, that criticizing it feels like playing into the producers’ hands — spreading word about the show by fixating on a moment that’s mostly undercut by awkward storytelling.
Others have trashed it almost mercilessly,
‘The Idol’ is grim, gross, and vulgar.
It’s full of preposterous recycled ideas and pornish sex that would be at home on HBO’s Cinemax, not the main HBO which we know loves Emmy awards.”
–Roger Friedman, Showbiz 411
More regressive than transgressive.”
– The Hollywood Reporter
‘The Idol’ only pretends to expose exploitation, while actually reveling in it…”
–Time
The show’s sleaze (intentional and not) would be one thing, but it’s the hideous, self-excusing presentation of rape culture that rankles.
–The Daily Beast
Plays like a sordid male fantasy.”
–Variety
How can a show with so much nudity, sex, and eroticism be so bland?“
–Collider
Even the music is terrible.”
–Daily Telegraph
But despite the 25% rating, the Rotten Tomatoes audience reviews are mostly positive…
