This video is a scathing review of The Weeknd's (Abel Tesfaye's) film, Hurry Up Tomorrow, by music critic Anthony Fantano. While acknowledging his admiration for the album of the same name, Fantano describes the movie as one of the worst he has seen in years, labeling it boring, uneventful, and cringeworthy. The core criticism is that the film functions as a vapid and self-indulgent "ego trip" for Abel, with supporting characters played by Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega existing solely to praise and obsess over him. The narrative attempts a shallow anti-hero journey that fails to explore its themes of toxicity and addiction meaningfully. The plot devolves into a derivative ripoff of films like Misery and American Psycho, culminating in a nonsensical twist that reveals the central conflict was merely a figment of Abel's imagination. Fantano concludes that film and acting are not Abel's strong suits and strongly recommends against watching the movie.
A Critical Takedown of The Weeknd's "Hurry Up Tomorrow"
0:00:08 - A Critial Review: Anthony Fantano introduces his review of The Weeknd's new film, Hurry Up Tomorrow. While he praises the album it's based on, he quickly establishes that his opinion of the movie is extremely negative.
0:01:57 - A Failure to Translate Talent: Fantano argues that while The Weeknd is a talented musician heavily inspired by film, his previous forays into acting and filmmaking have been unsuccessful, a trend that continues with this movie.
0:02:04 - A Harsh Verdict: He calls the film "one of the worst movie experiences" he's had in years, describing it as drawn out, boring, and devoid of any substantive or meaningful content.
0:04:11 - The Film as an "Ego Trip": The central thesis of the review is that the movie's sole purpose is to be a massive ego trip for Abel Tesfaye, with Fantano stating it feels like watching the artist "sniff his own farts" for 100 minutes.
0:05:45 - A Shallow Anti-Hero Plot: The movie portrays Abel (playing himself) as a "bad guy" struggling with drugs, women, and his own toxicity. However, the review argues this portrayal is superficial, never exploring the consequences or hitting a true "rock bottom."
0:08:32 - Jenna Ortega's Unconvincing Role: Jenna Ortega's character is criticized as a "manic pixie nightmare girl" who exists only to become obsessed with Abel for no apparent reason, further feeding the film's self-indulgent nature. A scene where Abel plays her a demo from his phone is highlighted as particularly cringe-worthy.
0:10:18 - Derivative Third Act: The film's final act devolves into a complete ripoff of other movies, particularly Misery and American Psycho, as Ortega's character holds Abel hostage to force him to confront his "truth."
0:11:28 - Explaining the Obvious: A climactic scene where Ortega's character analyzes The Weeknd's song lyrics is ridiculed because her "deep insights" are just the most obvious, surface-level themes (sadness, isolation, toxicity) that define his entire musical brand.
0:15:17 - A Nonsensical Twist Ending: It's revealed that the entire ordeal with Jenna Ortega was a hallucination in Abel's mind. Fantano finds this "Tyler Durden" style twist to be silly, poorly executed, and confusing.
0:16:05 - Final Conclusion: The reviewer concludes that the film is an awful, self-aggrandizing project that proves filmmaking is not The Weeknd's strong suit. He strongly advises viewers to avoid it.