Music Video
Rihanna filmed the music video for "Rehab" with Justin Timberlake at Vasquez Rocks Park, near Los Angeles, on October 22, 2008. It was directed by Anthony Mandler, who directed the videos for Rihanna's 2008 singles "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia". Photographs of the production were leaked on the same day. Tim Nixon of The Sun wrote that the "red hot chemistry" between Rihanna and Timberlake must have been difficult for their partners to watch. Simon Reynolds of Digital Spy said that Timberlake's partner Jessica Biel was "said to be 'sick to her stomach' after seeing Rihanna wearing a revealing outfit while filming with Timberlake." Timberlake told Access Hollywood, "I’m the guy in the video, so I had to give them all insecurities about that. But yeah we had a great time, we goofed around at the shoot most of the time." The video premiered November 17, 2008, on MTV.
The video begins as Rihanna, scantily dressed and wearing fishnet stockings, stands against a convertible car in a desert. Timberlake, wearing a leather jacket and black jeans, arrives on a motorcycle. He unbuttons his jacket to cool down and bathes in pink-colored water before greeting Rihanna at her Airstream trailer. The pair then climb onto the hood of the vintage car. In the next scene, Timberlake plays a guitar while lying on a large rocket. Throughout the video, Timberlake and Rihanna vary their poses from sultry to defensive. David Balls of Digital Spy wrote, "The pop pair put in such a highly-charged, effortlessly sexual display that it's no surprise Justin's lady was far from happy." Tim Nixon of The Sun noted, "the sight of sexy Rihanna—clad in a series of tantalising costumes—writhing around with Justin is a real treat." In his book Post Cinematic Affect (2010), Steven Shaviro wrote that, in the videos of "Rehab", "Love Sex Magic" and "4 Minutes", Timberlake "radiates a smothering sexual heat", and that these videos "can be contrasted with the videos from Timberlake's own Future Sex/Love Sounds album which Joshua Clover convincingly describes as a 'homosocial' exchange between Timberlake and his producer Timbaland". The "Rehab" video won the Best Music Video award at the 2009 Urban Music Awards.
Read more about this topic: Rehab (Rihanna Song)
Famous quotes containing the words music and/or video:
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