Dispatches from Elsewhere

Jason Segal is one of the most fascinating "creatives" in the entertainment industry. He is constantly re-inventing himself and his career, from "Freeks & Geeks" to "How I met your mother," from "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to re-inventing The Muppets. This is his latest, a limited series based on a mysterious ARG that popped up in San Francisco a few years back (and then, just as mysteriously disappeared.) It's anything but safe. It's funny, clever, disturbing and very addictive. It's anything but boring, concerning 4 people who find themselves caught up in a strange company by the name of The Jejune Institute. A company which may or may not be real and may or may not contain the answers we all seek. Starting created, directed and written by Segal. Co-starring Sally Field, Richard E. Grant and Andre Benjamin (3000). Really interesting, highly recommended.

It started off slow, got to a really interesting place and then meandered....

Off a cliff.

It's based on an interactive game that was played in SF a few years back. See the documentary THE INSTITUTE for more details.

The premise interested Segal enough that he wanted to make a series about it. Kudos for AMC to breaking out of the Zombie and vampire hell they've created for themselves but still.

If only someone had been brave enough to tell him to throw out the last episode, never to be seen again, this would've rated as high as an eight.

Instead it changes into something else entirely.

So as of yet, I don't know what to think of this one. As to what star rating I'd give this, my place holder is a 7. I hope it turns into something interesting and different, but I don't know right now. Watching this, for me, is like making a wrong turn down a road I've never been and seeing some interesting things that are a bit off and make absolutely no sense.

Do I turn back, or do I keep going? That's sort of how I feel after watching the first episode. I think I'll keep going a bit further and see where this leads.

If the story delivers, or doesn't, I'll re-edit this review. But I'll watch the next episode and see where that leads. If you like off-beat fantasy type stuff you might like this one. It's certainly off-beat. It kind of reminds me of movies like The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Brazil, and maybe even a little bit like a modern take of Alice in Wonderland thrown in. At this point. I can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing just yet. The writing is ok, and the story is at least intriguing, the characters are somewhat cookie-cutter at this point, but hey Sally Fields is in it playing Sally Fields again, so there's that.

After watching the first episode I found it intriguing yet chaotic. I kept wondering where it was going but at the same time wanting to find out. I can however now see why David Lynch loved Philadelphia so much as the city comes off as quirky as this presentation. The jury is still out for me as maybe I should smoke something before I watch the next episode?

If you look at the breakdown of voting for this show, you will see sharp divisions between people who thought it was wonderful versus terrible. Lots of folks gave it a perfect "10" and lots gave it the worst possible "1". That's exactly the kind of show or movie I seek out. It shows the filmmaker is taking huge chances to make something truly unexpected and different. I love to see filmmakers NOT playing it safe.

Did this experiment work? I can't say it's the best thing I ever saw. But I was definitely entertained, and I looked forward to each episode. It would help, by the way, to go seek out the documentary about the real "Jejune Institute". I found it on Amazon Prime.