Kanye West is a madman but I don't think there's anyone who doubts this. However his musical short film "Runaway" is a bit more debatable; it straddles that thin line between pretentious and nonsensical, impressively without ever slipping into profundity. It's not really so much a musical as it is a way of offering samples of a lot of the songs on Kanye's well-received but very pretentiously named "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" album with the only song played in full being "Runaway" itself. There's a plot. Sort of. Kanye runs down a street to an explosion where he finds a birdlady who he brings home to let her explore his backyard while he creepily watches her. Then he plays a soundboard for her to dance to and teaches her how to use human utensils. They also watch a spontaneous parade that has a marching band, a giant paper mache Michael Jackson head, and people wearing red capirote which may or may not be a KKK reference. Then they go to a dinner party in a warehouse where he performs "Runaway" while a bunch of ballerinas dance to it (this is the bulk of the film) but the party is ruined when they bring out the poultry main course and his birdgirlfriend flips out. She tells him she's a phoenix and that she will be trapped here forever if he doesn't let her burn. This is the most dialogue and explanation we get in the entire movie and then they have sex with their clothes on and she goes away to burn or something with the same shot of Kanye running as in the beginning. Symbolism! Also most scene changes are punctuated with explosions that would make Michael Bay proud.
Yeah, this makes very little sense. Kanye's acting is hilarious. But, to quote Adam, "At least he hired a cinematographer." The movie is actually aesthetically pleasing and pretty but style without substance can't get you far.
Quote:
Dinner Guest: "Your girlfriend is really beautiful."
Kanye West: "Thank you."
Dinner Guest: "Do you know she is a bird?"
Kanye West: [contemplatively] "No, I never noticed that."
Adam's Grandma's Review: "It's different. Different from anything."
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