Random Acts Of Flyness

HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness is like almost nothing you’ve seen on TV before. ... It switches nimbly between documentary, animation, music and short film to try to capture a reality for which fiction and nonfiction alone are insufficient.

Its meanings are sometimes obscure and sometimes obvious, nearly to the point of being polemical, and most often somewhere in between. But its surfaces are always interesting and splendidly executed. Even the glitches are artfully placed.

The Inception-style meta framing of the show as one featuring Nance being acted by Nance and written and edited and directed by Nance can taste like the particular brand of cheeky self-indulgence favored by film-school art projects, but fortunately it never dips too far in that direction. ... Untethered by genre labels or traditional television formats, Nance’s show translates as something with roots in entertainment television, art house movies, and journalism--an experimental trip into blackness fly enough to post up in a modern-art museum.

At first, the protean barrage of imagery and gonzo sound design overwhelms the senses. Once your brain gets used to its staccato rhythm, however, you settle in for the ride. Although I couldn't quite process all the nuances within the moment, I still found myself nodding along (and even dancing along) all the same.

There’s so much to look at and feel while watching this show that it can sometimes be overwhelming--which, of course, is the entire point. It can be chaotic as it careens from one thought or medium to another, but it’s never random.