What ultimately makes Chip a compelling character isn't that he's a complex or original protagonist, but that the show constantly leaves the viewer guessing as to just what sort of man he is. He's a bit of an enigma for most of the season. The first episode opens with Chip speaking at an AA meeting about the night he drove drunk and killed a man. That speech makes it clear that maybe this guy has a better excuse for being an emotionally stunted man-child than most. At the same time, the well-rehearsed quality of the speech shows that Chip knows how to work a room and has grown comfortable using his tragic story for personal gain. So the question becomes - is Chip just a charming, self-absorbed con artist or is there a genuinely decent guy beneath all the foibles and self-destructive behavior? The show comes close to ruining that sense of mystery in the finale but manages to stay afloat in the end.But while the writing sometimes falls short, Arnett makes for a good leading man. Arnett is best known for playing arrogant, loud-mouthed blowhards (including Gob Bluth in Arrested Development and Batman in The LEGO Movie) but Chip isn't that character. He's much quieter, for one thing. He's the sort of loser with enough decency to feel guilty when he causes harm, even if he doesn't feel guilty enough to actually change. Arnett frequently has the chance to flex his dramatic muscles in this show, and much of the credit for Chip's enigmatic personality and motivations is due to his acting. He plays the character as someone who is clearly in pain, but maybe not for the reasons he claims.
Apart from Chip himself, the show revolves around a loose love quadrangle comprised of his best friend/neighbor Dennis (Argo's David Sullivan), ex-girlfriend Kara (Cane's Lina Esco) and new love interest London (Primeval's Ruth Kearney). The show often struggles to make the most of this solid supporting cast. Initially, Dennis feels more like a ridiculous caricature than a real person. He's neurotic to the extreme. He can't seem to interact with a woman without obsessing over her and studying about her interests for days. And he seems content to let Chip walk all over him, to the point of offering his friend a rent-free home in his mother's old house. It's sort of a running theme in the show that everyone seems to make enormous concessions for Chip despite having no clear motivation for doing so.
Dennis eventually improves as the show eases up on his neuroses and begins exploring the character's complicated history with Chip and with his mentally unstable mother (Kirstie Alley). Eventually, Dennis becomes almost a stand-in for the audience as he embarks on his own quest to figure out what sort of man Chip really is and whether their friendship is truly worth maintaining despite all evidence to the contrary. One of the elements I liked best about their relationship is the show's frank examination of the idea that just because people need unconditional support doesn't mean they necessarily deserve it. Honestly, it's that element that saves the finale in the wake of a disappointing reveal about Chip.
The same can't really be said for either Esco or Kearney's characters. Both actresses deliver solid performances, but the show rarely seems very interested in developing either character beyond how their lives directly impact Chip and Dennis'. Kara seems all but forgotten by the last couple episodes. London's relationship with Chip becomes one of the driving forces of the season in its second half, but even her arc feels rudely abandoned in the finale. And in both cases, it's not clear why these two women are so taken with Chip, a significantly flawed man who doesn't seem to have a lot to offer. In Kara's case, she's routinely neglected and betrayed by Chip, yet she never seems willing to entirely cut him out of her life. London, meanwhile, has every reason to avoid Chip entirely yet does the exact opposite. It's a good thing that Arnett and Kearney have enough chemistry to offset the otherwise surreal quality of their relationship. And to the show's credit, the writing stops short of portraying her as a manic pixie dream girl.Flaked is billed as a comedy, but more often than not the show isn't overly concerned with being funny. The humor is more directed at the various little absurdities of Chip's world. There's the coffee shop called Free Coffee that doesn't actually give away free coffee, except in the case of Chip because, again, everyone in this show falls over themselves to be his friend. Then there's Chip's day job as a furniture designer who specializes in making stools, despite there being no evidence that he's ever had or ever will have a single customer.
Luckily, the show does have an impressive lineup of guest stars to lend a little extra flavor to these sometimes dry proceedings. George Basil (Roller Town) plays Chip's absentminded stoner friend and aspiring stand-up comedian Cooler, frequently serving as an amusing foil to our hero. Robert Wisdom (The Wire) is especially amusing as a local police officer who divides his time between stuffing his face, playing inappropriate pranks and playing the sage uncle to Chip and his friends. Alongside the aforementioned Kirstie Alley, Heather Graham and Christopher Mintz-Plasse all playing recurring roles. All three are fun additions to the conflict, though often their characters seem a little more broad and not quite on the same wavelength as the rest of the cast.
Venice itself is pretty much the other main character of the show alongside Chip. Because Chip himself is legally barred from driving, the show spends a lot of time following him on his various bike rides across town. There's a clear love for Venice and its inhabitants at work. The camera lingers on the interesting architecture, the sun-soaked streets and the colorful characters that walk those streets. That's especially true when Pfister is behind the camera in the first two and last two episodes. And this emphasis on setting is important, because as the show is so unsubtle about pointing out, Chip's personal evolution mirrors that of his city. The character is fighting to save himself and the comfortable new life he's built for himself even as Venice is threatened by urban development and gentrification.
Structurally, the show is built very much to take advantage of the Netflix binge model. It's tough to imagine watching Flaked from week to week given how slowly the plot advances (especially in the first half of the series). But taken all together, it forms a decent, extended narrative about a pair of middle-aged men trying to finally act their age. The show does make a fairly abrupt shift from being a laid-back, slice-of-life dramedy to something more overtly melodramatic in the back half, but I do give Flaked credit for refusing to wrap up Chip's journey with a neat little bow despite all the weird storytelling choices made in the final few episodes. As redundant as the show can be in its exploration of the eternal man-child conflict, it also has enough unusual flourishes and weird quirks to keep it interesting.
