Some works of art can’t be defined, while others are hard to explain and then there’s the web series PN & Friends. Well, a work of art in this case is a bit of a stretch. But the Todd Montesi episodic stream is interesting, jocular and oddly compelling.
Episode 21: Phase III begins with footage from inside the Capitol Building on January 6, and PN (Montesi) makes the same exaltation over and over. “In the beginning, I was the one who was truly there for you.”
In imagery, audio voice-over or animation form, Montesi is daunting and overwhelming. So much so, that there’s a sense that some serious existential themes are going to be explored and actually resolved.
And then suddenly a zoom call with nine very unremarkable men takes over the screen. “You got to make sure, that you outsmart the ones who think they’re the smartest,” Groper the God takes the conversation somewhere else.
Where, you don’t know. But Groper’s homies acknowledge the baseless wisdom, and then the calls goes out for PN’s guidance. A bit creepily, the quorum mistakes P-N for Pee-on, and the craziness continues. The summoning does soon bring the dear leader, and his discourse doesn’t make much sense either.
On the other hand, Montesi’s zoom image gets up in your face and combined with his tone, inflection and delivery, you can’t turn away. In fact, the presentation actually gives rise to amusement.
So why change a good thing, and the onslaught of eclectic characters and inane dialogue continues throughout. For one, Keith (Keith Mackler) can definitely hold his own.
Skin bald, with a red beard playing contrast to his stark whiteness, it doesn’t surprise that he lives in his mom’s basement. Still, Keith is certain he holds any man-child criticism at bay with his cover story. They’re in business together, and Mom runs the HR department from above.
Of course, the unwarranted confidence that comes through prevents Mackler from holding back. “You know what, I’m going to eat the four cheesecakes and the four cheese steaks just to spite you,” Keith declares without any real prompting from PN.
Not that funny on paper or video but Mackler’s full embrace of the role and Montesi’s formula is a delight. The down home cinematographic look of the zoom calls and traipses through NYC reinforces the outlook. Thus, the madness continues – zoom calls that ping in multi-directions, bizarre encounters on the street and loudness from characters whose nutty getups say as much as their decibel levels.
On point either way, Montesi gets the writing credits too. But you can’t help wonder if pen ever makes it to paper. All over the place, the free flow feels like the final draft consists mostly of prompts. The scene calls for a discussion of “Black Laughs Matters,” and go.
On the director’s side, Montesi amazingly maintains the formula among a large cast of characters and the incomprehensible idiosyncrasies don’t miss a beat. Or maybe there is reason to the rhyme, and an actual message is embedded in the chaotic dialogue and crisscrossing storylines.
But there’s no reason to bother. Just get taken in and don’t even try to explain why PN & Friends is appealing. You can’t – and leave the near work of art at that.