The Idol compared to Eyes Wide Shut in baffling reactions

The early response to The Idol, HBO’s horny drama from Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, has been brutal – but some viewers have compared it to Eyes Wide Shut.

The new series revolves around Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp), a pop star having a crisis of confidence; she wants to be the biggest, sexiest celebrity in the music business, but her new songs suddenly feel “superficial.” One night, she meets Tedros (Abel ‘The Weeknd’ Tesfaye), a club owner with whom she strikes an instant, icky connection.

The first episode is a peek behind the curtain of controversy; graphic and cringy enough to be a talking point, and in one scene, a character seems to declare the show’s mission statement: “Let people enjoy sex, drugs, and hot girls!”

It’s been Twitter’s punching bag since the premiere of The Idol’s pilot, but some of its defenders have invoked a huge name: Stanley Kubrick.

“The Idol will be this generation’s Eyes Wide Shut”

For those who don’t know, Eyes Wide Shut was Stanley Kubrick’s final movie. Released in 1999, it starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a couple whose marriage is in free fall. Wracked with despair and anger after discovering his wife dreamt about another man, he takes to the streets in a nightlong NYC odyssey, putting him on a collision course with a mask-wearing orgy cult.

What are the similarities, I hear you ask? Unless we’re counting explicit sexual content (we’re not) and The Weeknd’s supposed cult leader character (we’re not), there aren’t any. Thematically, visually, and dramaturgically, they’re totally different.

But some viewers think The Weeknd’s performance evokes the kind of acting Kubrick would have sought from his stars – an objectively hilarious observation – and its reputation will improve over time, just as Eyes Wide Shut was toughly swallowed at first but has since been reappraised as a classic.

“The Idol is like Eyes Wide Shut on steroids,” one wrote on Facebook. “The Idol: a Scarface meets with Eyes Wide Shut vibe with a Bobby Brown and Whitney influence all blended in a blender,” another wrote.

Prior to release, one user wrote: “I think Abel may be going for something that Stanley Kubrick would do tbh… Kubrick is known for making some weird fucking movies. The Idol seems to be heading in that Clockwork Orange/Eyes Wide Shut direction from what I’ve seen of it.”

In another tweet, one user criticized The Weeknd’s performance and likened it to Kubrick casting Cruise (even though he’s terrific in that movie). “The Idol is pure craft on every level, the most exciting thing from HBO all year. Really. But The Weeknd is god-awful, he just can’t help but be horrendous. It’s so bad it almost seems intentional, like casting Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut,” they wrote.

Jokingly theorizing over Tedros’ cult, Yahoo’s review read: “Apparently Tedros will be introducing Joss into some sort of cult. Maybe it’s like the one in Eyes Wide Shut, where characterless women stand around naked in a ballroom, reduced to erotic mannequins and caterers.”

Eyes Wide Shut is available to rent or buy via Amazon Prime, and The Idol Episode 1 dropped on June 4. Find out more about the show here, check out reviews here, and learn a bit more about the controversy here.

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