The Nowhere Inn

Greetings again from the darkness. Have you ever wondered what would happen if David Lynch and Fred Armisen collaborated on a contemporary reimagining of THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984)? Well, me neither, and that has not happened. But it's the closest I can come to giving you some idea of this meta-comedy concept film from director Bill Benz and co-writers and co-stars Carrie Brownstein and St Vincent.

We are told that initially singer-songwriter-musician St Vincent has asked her friend Carrie Brownstein to direct a documentary on the singer and her tour. Brownstein envisions a blend of concert and offstage footage so that fans get to know the "real" St Vincent. It turns out the real St Vincent is Annie Clark, a woman who plays Scrabble and video games, and loves to shop for radishes at local Farmers Markets. The contrast between St Vincent's onstage red guitar riffs, giant video screen, leather outfits and her offstage calm personality is not just stark, but actually a bit boring.

Boring is not what Brownstein has in mind and it creates a rift between the two women, and flips a switch for St Vincent. The musician goes overboard in trying to manufacture the typical rock star image of cool and aloof. Brownstein is frustrated not just with the artificiality of the new approach, but also in the expanding distance between the two friends. Some of the vignettes are quite humorous - in a surreal way. St Vincent stages an intimate scene in her bedroom with a scantily clad Dakota Johnson, and then another sequence features St Vincent's "family" in a scene right out of "Hee-Haw".

The satire on public vs private life is a topic worthy of discussion. Often it's the fans who feel entitled to know more about their icons, while other times it's the celebrities who are trying to cultivate a public image and garner some extra publicity. In this era of social media, the bigger the personality - the more outlandish - the more publicity and the more followers.

Director Benz's film drags a bit in the middle, and the final act turns somewhat surreal as Brownstein and St Vincent both have their lapses from reality. Both seem to be confused about their public persona vs real life, so it begins to mimic what's happened with the original documentary concept. There is a terrific scene involving St Vincent singing on stage and working her way through red velvet stage curtains, but for the most part this isn't a biting satire - it's more like a soft-touch. The "Portlandia" connection is clear throughout (Benz, Brownstein, St Vincent) but I'm not sure the film is cohesive enough (mockumentary? Wry comedy? Satire?) for a mass audience ... it might work best as midnight madness.

In theaters September 17, 2021.

I wanted to love The Nowhere Inn, because I'm a fan of Carrie Brownstein, and I like mockumentaries. This is more of a drug-addled, surrealistic reaction to the superficiality of celebrity, classism, and the reality of the fakeness of filmed reality. There's a lot of interpersonal cruelty between Annie & Brownstein which is frustrating & anxiety-inducing while it is couched in what feels like a nightmare. What I like about The Nowhere Inn is it's a reaction, one of disgust, which is appropriate. The objective of a mockumentary is to be satirical, sarcastic, comedic, and slightly absurd - and while there are a few really funny moments, the story gets buried under layers upon layers of mess. All said and done, I asked myself if viewers of The Nowhere Inn are supposed to feel like they were on the outside of an inside joke. That is where that film has left me.

The film has striking visuals, but that's about all the nice things I can say about it. There is no story. The film is basically a self-indulgent, narcissistic expression of "look at me, me me me me". If this film was made for the singer to promote herself, I'm afraid it didn't work. I'm actually put off by it.

Look, I think you have to a) like st Vincent and b) get her a little bit. Honestly, I had fun thinking about how much fun they must have had, while filming some of the more "outrageous" scenes! You get a little live footage, you get a little of what you think she's like bts and her friendship with CB and then, you also get to laugh with what she created in order to become "more interesting" bts for the documentary. I liked it a lot! I don't know what to call it, but I don't need to. It's not a movie, it's not a documentary, it is really fun though. Also, i loved the cinematography. I rated it with a 6/10, just because I've rated films that I like higher, but this is not a filmy film...whatever, just watch it if you like her! Bye.

'The Nowhere Inn': (No Spoilers here!)

Think David Lynch, meets Spinal Tap, meets 'Eraser Head'...Very entertaining on all fronts: Musically, Visually, Storytelling, Editing, and Fun-tense character arcs...very creative!

I didn't expect much, I didn't know much about it before watching, and I even hesitated to watch it because i didn't want to hate it since I really like St. Vincent...But I was surprised!

Well written, very well acted, lots of creative use in the editing that rides the line of 'too much' but never seems to cross it. The story is clear, so I didn't have to work to stay with it: Expectations meet Reality...Glamour meets Simplicity...Trust meets Freedom...Friendship meets Challenge and Sanity meets Unravelling. These are some of the wonderful conflicts and resolutions in the film.

I was entertained throughout and yes, I definitely felt that i got to know St. Vincent - Annie Clark (and Carrie Brownstein!) a little better...well done!