Clichéd scenes of debauchery abound in Hurry Up Tomorrow, although in fairness they're clichéd for a reason. Starring Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, as a fictionalised version of himself, this hackneyed drama from Trey Edward Shults (It Comes At Night, Waves) covers a chaotic few days in the life of an imploding pop star, reiterating some recurring themes from Tesfaye’s music: addiction, heartbreak, and the trials of fame.
Preparing to go on stage for his latest stadium show, Tesfaye chokes back tears over a voicemail from his ex-girlfriend, who just dumped him for what sound like extremely valid reasons. To get him in the mood to perform, his manager/enabler Lee (Barry Keoghan) offers him bumps of coke and delivers a sinister pep talk assuring him that he's a godlike superhero. If you've seen literally any movie about celebrities and addiction, you'll know what happens next. Tesfaye is about to hit rock bottom, and he’ll either torpedo his career or find some new way to handle his issues — a journey embodied by Anima (Jenna Ortega), a fan who encounters Tesfaye when he's in the midst of a very public breakdown.
It’s hard to forget the film’s role as cross-promotion for The Weeknd's latest album.
The resulting relationship is a twist on the formula for wish-fulfilment romances like The Idea Of You, introducing Anima as a kind of fantasy girlfriend for Tesfaye. As their tearful eyes meet among a crowd of thousands, he sees a troubled kindred spirit — and wouldn't you know it, she just happens to be a beautiful, much-younger woman.
While the second half of this tale is a lot less predictable than the first — including some elements that tap into Shults’ background as a horror director — it’s hard to forget the film’s role as cross-promotion for Tesfaye’s latest album. In this particular cinematic subgenre, we’re all happy on the rare occasions when an artist comes out with something like Purple Rain. But if a musician’s star vehicle doesn’t stand on its own merits, it veers into vanity-project territory, even if this is not a particularly flattering depiction of Tesfaye. In addition to the various scenes that resemble a music video, the plot and characters of Hurry Up Tomorrow just aren't robust enough to hold up a 105-minute film.
Co-written by Tesfaye, Shults and Reza Fahim (co-creator of Tesfaye’s critically panned HBO drama The Idol), the film is meant to add a new dimension to The Weeknd’s musical output, exploring similar emotional terrain. It’s just a shame that it spins a story that feels embarrassingly self-absorbed — and, more damningly, rather dull to watch.
