In the opening scene of the Max show-business melodrama “The Idol,” Lily-Rose Depp’s half-naked pop star Jocelyn is doing a photo shoot in her mansion as the photographer issues a series of off-screen notes: “Give me some innocence now … some doe-eyed looks … now mischievous, play with the camera … OK, pure sex now, that’s good, give me vulnerable … and now emotional …”
The camera eventually pulls back to reveal the small army of managers, handlers, publicists, assistants, et al., whose lives revolve around the career fortunes of Jocelyn, who is clearly modeled after Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus. Within a few scenes, it’s obvious “The Idol” is going for a 1990s erotic thriller vibe a la “9 ½ Weeks” or “Showgirls” (there’s even a scene in which “Basic Instinct” is playing on TV), but based on the pilot that premiered Sunday on HBO, “The Idol” doesn’t even have the campy trash factor of those films. It comes across as cynical, condescending, exploitative and flat.
