this is a fascinating meta documentary that's at times humorous and provocative, an exploration of how artists protect the difference between their performative and private identities
the editing rolls the story along sufficiently so that as long as viewers aren't too bothered by the self-indulgent descents down narrative rabbit holes, it's a jolly enough way to spend 91 minutes
never consistently funny enough to work as straight comedy and too broad to succeed in its somber aspirations, the results are still engaging in their attempts to defy easy categorization
Lavish sequences showcase the ingenuity of the lead pairing, who play off one another and pull out some of each other's most vulnerable character traits in truly sincere and often amusing ways
it's amusing enough to get lost in this labyrinthine plotting for a breezy 91 minutes, even if the twisty existential finale doesn't quite justify the journey
a collection of comedic and musical sketches that are not funny, weird or thoughtful enough to sell its creators' insistent, but mostly trite and undeveloped, ideas about the performative nature of self-fashioning and creative authenticity
"The Nowhere Inn" is elevated by hilarious asides and cleverly staged sequences, but too often meanders, looking for different ways to hammer the notion that fame destroys authenticity
by Derek Smith [Slant Magazine ]
