Swiss Army Man

Usually, fart jokes are associated with bad raunchy comedies in the likes of Adam Sandler's recent career, or really uncreative family movies. Insert, 'Swiss Army Man' – the Sundance title that's generated the most vocal reaction amongst festival goers for it's ridiculous, now infamous, farting dead body played by Daniel Radcliffe. This is only how the film begins, and let's just say it toots even louder from there.

Paul Dano plays Hank, a man lost on an island. Right when he's about to give up on life, he discovers the aforementioned farting body and finds an unexpected answer to why his life is worth living. He discovers that many elements of this body can help him survive and find a way back home, and keeps himself sane (or perhaps insane) by talking to it.

The writer/director duo Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as "the Daniels", have a reputation for ridiculous and highly entertaining short films and music videos, and this feature represents a conglomerate of numerous ideas that sound bad yet somehow all work. As Hank develops a relationship with the dead body (one that starts out similar to Wilson in Cast Away), the intriguing absurdity keeps you engaged for the rest of the film. This is the type of film best seen with little information beyond the initial premise, as it is full of mystery boxes waiting to be unraveled. Thanks to the great use of locations and production design, the world- building is fantastic and the wackiness becomes downright fun.

On top of being a silly movie that doesn't pretend to take itself seriously, 'Swiss Army Man' sneaks in themes of societal behavior and what is considered weird vs. what is normal. It's rare to find a movie that is so unpredictable in an engaging way, and because the movie begins with something so ridiculous and only goes deeper from there, it allows for limitless ideas on what is going to happen next and continues to be fun to watch. The reason the film may be polarizing is because of how silly it all is, but going in knowing it will be this way is all you need to jump in and enjoy the show. There is little more to say without giving too much away – essentially, if you can accept absurdity and be along for the ride, this movie may just sneak up and treat you to a great time overall.

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"If my best friend hides his farts from me then what else is he hiding from me, and why does that make me feel so alone?"

Never would I expect a farting talking corpse would've turn out to be a good movie. Even on paper, this idea sounds awful, but it's one of those things that manages to work out. I always hear people complain that movies just ain't that original anymore, with the endless reboots and the unnecessary squeals. And then you get something like this that's so different. Something so bizarre, weird and original that it's executed in a way that it actually works as a movie.

There's something deeply beautiful and very relatable about "Swiss Army Man" that I know a lot of people won't agree. It isn't for everybody. I mean, just look at the reviews for Sundance and the reports of walk outs during the movie. But then again, what do they know.

Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan bring a sweet and a very surreal study of the human condition that's done so uniquely. Making farts jokes seem so poetic.

This is Daniel Radcliffe at his best and while he's character may be dead, there's still heart within him. Paul Dano who really has been impressing me over the past years is really great in this. Radcliffe and Dano brought a sense of friendship and a real chemistry that after awhile it kinda over shadows the wackiness of whats going on. Some people may find the scenes between them too disturbing or creepy, and I can totally understand that. But it's something that's hard to explain really. Even if you try to put together why something like this worked, but it never fully clicks in your head as the correct answer. Well, what can I say. Movies make you feel something man.

Overall rating: I'm no gonna lie, I teared up a bit while watching this. Yes, a farting corpse movie actually made laugh, cry and think differently on things.

WOW.

"You can't just say whatever comes into your head. That's bad talking." Hank (Paul Dano)

Swiss Army Man is not Weekend at Bernie's, despite the animated corpse, Manny (Daniel Radcliffe), nor is it Cast Away with its benign Tom Hanks character and soccer ball Wilson. Rather it is as imaginative and unsettling a fantasy as you will see in your recent memory. The corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) eventually talks (albeit perhaps in Manny's mind only), and as the above quote suggests, maybe too much.

Marooned on an island, Hank is suicidal to the degree that he tries multiple times. Life has not been agreeable especially in his now lost situation. Enter corpse Manny, whose initial introduction is a body still filled with flatulence. Okay stuff for pubescent boys in the audience who can identify with the humorous properties of farts.

However, as in all good allegory, this film is conscious about the figurative relevance of those bodily functions, even boners from a dead man. As you already figured out, this body carries the weight of allegorical implication, mostly confirming that even in the body's basic functions, there is life affirming activity, enough for a seriously homicidal like Hank.

Swiss Army Man has a bunch of utilitarian functions, like the titular renowned knife, to counter the absurdity of life so well documented in the detritus Hanks finds in his lost condition. Cheese Puffs become almost sacred to a hungry castaway and erections are publicly appreciated as evidence of life, especially among the dead.

Dano and Radcliffe are the modern buddy-film icons, clueless about the value of life at its simplest but smart enough to figure it out. The ubiquitous smart phone, with its waning power, has the brief power to engage even a corpse with images of lust and maybe love, fleeting as the images might be.

A foraging bear reminds me that Hank is not as vulnerable as Leo's in Revenant, yet dramatically showing the wit of the two buddies for saving themselves. Nature is always a danger, but survivable if buddies are willing to count on human nature to get them through.

Swiss Army Man is not as oblique as Samuel Beckett's absurd dramas but feels much longer; however, it is Beckett with a sense of humor. It has an accessible figurativeness to please even the most unwillingly interpretive audience.

See this film to help you understand that even the basest human activity is better than the void to which we are all called.

It was a very different movie, very very different.

It was interesting to see Daniel in such a movie.

I'll admit it, this movie was weird as f*** and certainly not a block buster but don't let that stop you. As weird as it can be (it will have you wtf'ing through out) its still full of deep meanings and hidden messages. its like a double sided coin, one side full of slap stick and off the wall comedy while the other has you thinking about life while hitting you right in the feels. its an interesting combination that shouldn't work but in my opinion is masterfully done to create an overall good movie that will leave you thinking yet with a smile on your face and a lot to talk about. go see it folks and don't let the beginning deter you, its got more to offer then just fart jokes.