Hurry Up Tomorrow

The title Hurry Up Tomorrow is incredibly appropriate-because the entire time I was watching it, I just wanted it to hurry up and end. Calling this a "film" is generous; surviving it felt more like a cinematic endurance test.

The plot is laughably shallow, padded with so much pointless fluff that the pacing is downright painful. Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd, essentially plays himself-and not well. His acting is so stiff, it's almost impressive. Sharing scenes with Jenna Ortega only makes it worse; she effortlessly outshines him at every turn, making his performance look like a high school drama rehearsal.

To make matters worse, the whole movie is drenched in ego. There's a scene-I'm not making this up-where Jenna's character actually analyzes the deep themes of his music. It tries to present itself as some kind of profound artistic statement, but really, it's just a 100-minute commercial for his new album.

Abel, please-stick to your day job.

You are significantly more likely to enjoy this movie if any of the following are true: You are a Jenna Ortega stan. You love The Weeknd and his music. You like ethereal movies where metaphors and symbolism are the main draw. You don't mind visual storytelling with minimal actual story.

None of the above are true for me. I think Jenna Ortega is a highly talented actress and does not disappoint with this performance. The Weeknd also does a good job, although it's hard to tell since he's playing himself. And they are two of the realest celebrities out there, never afraid to stand up for what's right.

As for the movie overall, I found it overly slow and pretty boring. The story is super basic and could have been told in half the time. The visuals are cool but feel pointless. It will really depend on each viewer if the visuals and music are enough to make this an enjoyable experience.

(1 viewing, early screening UltraScreen 5/14/2025)

In the first half I was prone to say wow, this is not as bad as I expected. The cinematography was pretty decent, I liked the colors and the references (for example The Shining's hotel lobby). Plot was nearly inexistent, and it's a shame because it had lots of potential going on. I never had the chance to see more about the girl in his phone, I never actually learned the story behind Ortega's arsonicism. Nothing more than poor edging.

In the interviews, Abel is talking a lot about his traumatic event of losing his voice, but this plot was at best secondary, and i was disappointed of that too.

Overall, I really really love Abel and his music but his movies not so much.

A soft 5/10. Abel Tesfaye's Hurry Up Tomorrow flirts with greatness but gets caught in its own spin, literally. The overused spinning camera becomes more distracting than dynamic and pulls from an otherwise intimate movie that gradually finds its own rhythm. The small cast works well and the slow-burn structure kept me guessing what kind of movie it really was until it clicked into place. It tries a little too hard to feel surreal and there's definitely some ego stroking going on by The Weekend. A few memorable moments.. It's Trey Edward Shults and feels like it. It's ambitious, uneven, and intriguing.

It's an okay movie, but not what I was expecting story-wise. I do get why a lot of diehard Weeknd fans will like it, and I don't want to take that away from them, but coming from a semi-fan who really enjoyed the album, it could've been a lot better. A lot of fluff could have been cut to make a much better ending. And I'm not just talking about unimportant scenes, there are several moments where characters just stand and do nothing for like, 6 seconds or so. Basic information even slight fans of the Weeknd should know is spoon-fed, while critical information about the entire movie has to be pieced together as the credits roll. It is pretty emotional, it just could have been executed so much better. Also, if you at all suffer from epilepsy or dizziness, do not see this movie. There's no warning but there's a ton of bright rapidly flashing lights and fast moving camera angles.