You're right, he has all the charisma and stage presence of a wet quilt, and to be fair those qualities have nothing to do with weight or appearance, but they also can't be manufactured by taking his clothes off. Quite the opposite.Sam Smith might not be doing anything new (ok apart from the golden showers, I don’t think I’ve seen that in a pop video before…) but with him it’s just grotesque. He’s trying so hard to be sexy when he doesn’t have that kind of charisma, it’s cringy more than a turn on. Who told him he looked good? I know beauty is subjective, but he’s so bleeping unattractive in this video. Who’s telling him this is a good look?
On the other hand… the time period it seems to be set in reminds me a bit of 120 Days of Sodom by Marquis de Sade, albeit more glamorous and without kids, so if that was what he was aiming at then he nailed it.