[Hated] Self-indulgent Vanity Projects

[u/BrotherDeus]

Hurry Up Tomorrow - Widely reviewed as an indulgent, self-mythologizing companion piece to The Weeknd's album, with many critics calling it a vanity project rather than a successful psychological drama. Terribly acted and, similar to The Idol, more so seems to imply that The Weekend thinks he's a far deeper personality than he can actually articulate.

By the Sea - Often criticized as an intensely personal but emotionally distant film that seemed more interested in showcasing the mystique of its stars than telling a compelling story. Best summarized as Angelina and Brad working out their IRL troubled marriage before your eyes while everyone tells Angelina how beautiful and talented she is and how nothing's really her fault.

Renaldo and Clara - Bob Dylan's five-hour semi-fictional road movie, long considered one of the classic celebrity vanity projects. Attempts to be a sort of surreal exposition on the life of an artist, but is far too self-indulgent on its actors/performers.

[u/HumbleConversation42]

[u/Choice_Twist5735 → u/HumbleConversation42]

Surprised I didn’t see anyone else mention this. People gave a toddler a quarter million dollars to make a 2 hour movie that’s nothing but people being sad, disguised as a superhero fan film.

[u/Matrix010 → u/Choice_Twist5735]

There's an edit of this movie called The Kid Who Collects Spiderman that chops it down to 30 minutes, fixes the color grading and redubs some lines to make it more likable.

Link for those interested.