Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) Review & Summary

The Weeknd faces an unhinged fan in a fever dream of a movie called Hurry Up Tomorrow.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Hurry Up Tomorrow” Film Details

  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 45 Minutes
  • Released On: In Theaters
  • Public Release Date: May 14, 2025
  • Director(s): Trey Edward Shults
  • Writer(s): Reza Fahim, Trey Edward Shults, Abel Tesfaye
  • Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Musical
  • Rating: Rated R
  • Distributor: Lionsgate

Summary

The Weeknd, currently dealing with the dramatic end to a relationship, is crashing out and even his best friend, Lee, struggles to bring him from the highs and lows of this breakup. But, after a public embarrassment, The Weeknd finds himself locking eyes with Amina. She is a woman with her own problems, and as The Weeknd tries to play her as he does most of the women in his life, he is put in a situation reminiscent of Misery.

Cast and Characters

The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye)

  • Character Summary: Overwhelmed by the fame, life, and the work he does, The Weeknd experiences the last straw as a relationship ends badly, and his voice begins to give out. Making it so, the need for rest becomes less of an option.

Lee (Barry Keoghan)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: The driving force behind The Weeknd, he makes sure The Weeknd gets on stage, has fun after parties, meets with members of the record company, and essentially stays famous and lives up to the reputation the music has made.

Amina (Jenna Ortega)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Sensitive to the point of being destructive, Amina seemingly is Lee’s opposite. Lee may be willing for The Weeknd to bury his feelings in work, relationships, drugs or alcohol but Amina demands the truth, she demand The Weeknd to feel, and not just to be sensitive to what he is going through but others so that he can truly connect to his audience and not just dial it in.

Why Is “Hurry Up Tomorrow” Rated R?

  • Dialog:
    • Cursing: Occasional
    • Discriminatory Language: Yes
    • Innuendo: None
    • Suicide Mentions: No
  • Violence:
    • Gun Violence: None
    • Violence Against Animals: No
    • Violence Against Children: No
    • Domestic Violence: Yes
    • Gore/ Blood: Moderate
    • Body Horror: No
    • Notable Violence: Fight Scenes
  • Sexual Content:
    • Nudity: Mild
    • Sexual Situations: None
    • Sexual Violence: No
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Drinking: Yes
    • Drug Use: Smoking/ Snorted
    • Vomiting: No
    • Smoking: Yes
    • Vermin: None

Links

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

Time Flies [82/100]

For a movie nearly two hours long, you don’t really notice how time flies. I would attribute this to the fact that there is rarely ever a dull moment. If there isn’t a party scene, there is something trippy happening. If Jenna Ortega isn’t dancing around, she is committing a crime. Then, amongst all this, you have The Weeknd crashing out, being burned out, or trying to process his emotions in a way that reminds you that, at the heart of his music, is someone just trying to escape the pain of rejection, heartbreak, and who has an anxious attachment style.

So as you see him push and pull away from Lee, Amina, and the drama with his ex, you feel invested in ways that, even if not a huge The Weeknd fan, you still feel something.

Jenna Ortega Being A Hook, But Not All The Film Had To Offer [83/100]

Let me be 100% honest with you: I mainly saw this because Jenna Ortega was in it. I enjoy The Weeknd’s music, but I’m a singles type of fan, not a deep-cut album fan. But having watched YouTube videos (like the one below) about the lore and story of the character, while it has been a while, and my memory of why certain moments mattered in the film took a while to click together, once they did, I understood things better.

So, for me, it was seeing Amina deal with her relationship with her mother, her connection with The Weeknd, and the push that maybe she wasn’t real but a manifestation of something going inside him that was the driving force of what got me into the film, before I was able to appreciate what else Hurry Up Tomorrow had to offer.

No Need For The Idol Comparisons [81/100]

I know most people might be thinking about The Idol because that was The Weeknd’s last major role, never mind how ingrained he was in the production. Hurry Up Tomorrow is nothing like it. There is no exploitation of Jenna Ortega, over-the-top scenes that seem made just for social media postings, or anything like that.

Hurry Up Tomorrow is about giving fans of The Weeknd a taste of a long-form music video, featuring cuts of past and present songs and teases of future works. In many ways, you could even consider it a test to see if The Weeknd tried to do something akin to Purple Rain, would it be successful, or just niche?

On The Fence

You May Need To Catch Up On The Weeknd Lore To Fully Get The Story [78/100]

If you don’t know much about the backstory of The Weeknd, as a character, then Hurry Up Tomorrow may seem like it has a very weak story and is just a hour and 45 minute advertisement for The Weeknd’s next album, featuring his singles to remind you who he is in a big, grandeur way. However, if a fan of The Weeknd, if you have taken even a little bit of the lore and story in and know about the man behind the moniker, then you can understand there is more than meets the eye.

Is Amina just a fan who has lost her mind? Is Lee just a friend who pushes The Weeknd and offers him drugs, alcohol, and pushes him to enjoy his feelings of lust? Maybe. Hurry Up Tomorrow is like a show that references back what happened multiple seasons ago as a wink and a nod to long-term fans, while those not in the know just have the moment go completely over their heads.

Overall

Our Rating (81/100): Positive (Worth Seeing)

Beyond the ability to watch this in IMAX or Dolby, to me, Hurry Up Tomorrow is the type of film you can wait to see at home. Yes, it is cinematic, has this desire to be big, and certainly a gift to fans of The Weeknd. However, if you go in not being a fan, then a lot of what makes this special can go over your head. So while Ortega and Barry Keoghan offer something to heighten the experience, as does some of the scenes featuring The Weeknd’s madness, you may find this not worth the price of admission, and more so something to wait to come on HBO Max, Prime Video, Netflix, or another streaming platform.

What To Check Out Next

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.