Swiss Army Man

A24 | Release Date: June 24, 2016

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 328 Ratings

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fitjewelAug 15, 2016

Quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. I remember high school attempts at comedy that were more mature. Probably meant to be "meaningful" and "deep", but so sophomoric as to be insulting. Most of the "underlying" themes wereQuite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen. I remember high school attempts at comedy that were more mature. Probably meant to be "meaningful" and "deep", but so sophomoric as to be insulting. Most of the "underlying" themes were boring versions of shallow thinking "insights". How anyone could spend the money to fund this, is hard to fathom. It must be one of those "in" circle productions, where actors show they are not money driven, producers show they can be "artsy" and professional reviewers have to show that they can find something in this drivel to justify it being made and not insult others in the system by honest reviews.… Expand

4 of 9 users found this helpful45

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SpangleNov 7, 2016

Sorry, but I hated this one. Directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, Swiss Army Man tells the story of a man, Hank (Paul Dano), who is lost on an island and set to kill himself. However, right before doing the deed, he sees the deadSorry, but I hated this one. Directed by Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan, Swiss Army Man tells the story of a man, Hank (Paul Dano), who is lost on an island and set to kill himself. However, right before doing the deed, he sees the dead body of Manny (Daniel Radcliffe). Through talking to Manny, Hank explores his loneliness and depression, as well as his own self-esteem and self-image. When talking about this and how it is okay to be unique, Swiss Army Man ultimately winds up just being creepy and weird. It had a chance to be profound about a broken man being saved, but instead opts to just shock audiences with a farting corpse.

There are a few positives in Swiss Army Man. Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe are both spectacular. Plus, whenever it remains focused on examining what makes Hank depressed and run away to this island (well, not really an island), the film is largely quite successful. Typical, but moving and a tremendous character study. Additionally, the music in the film is great with a truly terrific score that elevates otherwise mundane moments.

Yet, that is about all that counts in the positive column for Swiss Army Man, a film that tries to turn farting into a cause. Relying on both fart and penis jokes to steer the film home, it is also simply an incredibly dumb movie. Hank goes to kill himself, but as it is revealed, he was merely in the woods behind a neighborhood that happens to go by an ocean. Even worse, when it is revealed that this Sarah Johnson (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in his phone is just some random girl who he stalks and has a picture of in his phone, it spoils the film even more. Until that point, I could write it off as an irreverent and weird film. But at this point, it was a truly creepy film. It wants us to feel sorry for this guy who creeps on this girl so much that he knows exactly where she lives and turns up in her backyard? No way. No thank you.

Plus, it even serves to spoil the rest of the film. While it was far too weird for me throughout, the scenes of Hank describing love to Manny were quite funny and filled with enthusiastic moments. Yet, since they use Sarah for much of this, it loses any of its luster. When they were joking around and just using a made up name for some swimsuit model, it was whatever. Once they started using a real person that Hank stalks, this moment lost all of its power and wound up just revealing the disturbing and truly chilling level of his obsession with this girl.

However, had this not even happened, Swiss Army Man had lost me. A little bit of weird and quirkiness is fine by me. Yet, this film dials it up to 11 with the weird and by the fourth time Hank used Manny's gas for some purpose, I knew this was not my kind of film. In defense of this film, everyone said this was not simply a film about a farting corpse like some made it out to be. Having seen the film now, they are right. It is a film about a creepy stalker who uses some corpses gas to not kill himself. Not exactly a winning combination.

Swiss Army Man can brush shoulders with profundity and comedy, but winds up ruining it with over-the-top weirdness and creepiness. Yes, it is okay to be weird. Yes, it is okay to be weird. However, I do not have to accept a film that begs me to like a stalker with an obsession for some girl he has never met. A truly ugly and thoroughly juvenile film, honestly.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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Benkoko11Feb 23, 2017

As evidenced here, we've come to a point in the historical arc of cinema where one can put just about anything on screen - no matter how childish and stupid - make it look pretty, and some will call it art. I hated this film, and I hate thatAs evidenced here, we've come to a point in the historical arc of cinema where one can put just about anything on screen - no matter how childish and stupid - make it look pretty, and some will call it art. I hated this film, and I hate that some people didn’t.… Expand

2 of 5 users found this helpful23

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link20202020Oct 1, 2016

The worst, most pointless movie made in a long time. Must be tough times in Hollywood when even their creative movies are absolutely horrible. Feel free to ignore all the marketing teams on here that are paid to post positive reviews.

3 of 9 users found this helpful36

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bessarabiaJun 26, 2016

A plot seemingly devised by a bored 12-year-old boy - farts, a giant boner, a dream-girl fantasy, and an imaginary friend. Add sycophantic festival reviews to the mix, and you get bloated ratings to match the bloated corpse.

6 of 21 users found this helpful615

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Phil32Jul 2, 2016

I gave this movie a 2 because some of the audience clapped when it ended. A half a dozen people walked out before an hour had passed. I thought this was an absolute nonsense of a movie. I didn't walk out because there was another film that II gave this movie a 2 because some of the audience clapped when it ended. A half a dozen people walked out before an hour had passed. I thought this was an absolute nonsense of a movie. I didn't walk out because there was another film that I was going to see in the same theater after this ended.… Expand

4 of 15 users found this helpful411

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LegionskyOct 29, 2016

A terrible mess of a movie. It seems like its trying to tell a message of some kind, but never really delivers. A bunch of sophomoric and disgusting fart and dead body jokes. Hank needs serious mental treatment.

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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Brent_MarchantJul 2, 2016

This stunningly awful release literally brings new meaning to the term artsy-fartsy. At times utterly pretentious, at times positively juvenile, at times painfully tedious, this alleged attempt at making "meaningful statements" about theThis stunningly awful release literally brings new meaning to the term artsy-fartsy. At times utterly pretentious, at times positively juvenile, at times painfully tedious, this alleged attempt at making "meaningful statements" about the human condition falls far short of the mark long before it even reaches the halfway point. A one-star rating is being generous, to be sure.… Expand

2 of 10 users found this helpful28

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HotelCentralFeb 24, 2017

Take any sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, remove everything that's funny, and you will have Swiss Army Man. It's 97 minutes long and I watched every minute and I have no clue what the point is. I turned on theTake any sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus, remove everything that's funny, and you will have Swiss Army Man. It's 97 minutes long and I watched every minute and I have no clue what the point is. I turned on the director/writer/whoever's Q&A, listened to three words and then turned it off because if you need to explain the movie then probably the movie is a FAIL.

Believe me, I've got nothing against "weird." I think Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is one of the most entertaining films to come along in years. Shaun of the Dead is delightful. Sin City is awesome. The Abominable Dr. Phibes is one of my all-time favs. But this Swiss Army thing . . . man, get a damn story.… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

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davidkarelJul 4, 2016

Absolutely terrible. Some may ascribe wit and the meaning of life because they wish to give the film more credit than it deserves. if you can see a blank wall and find deeper meaning, you'll like this. The writing and thoughts being thisAbsolutely terrible. Some may ascribe wit and the meaning of life because they wish to give the film more credit than it deserves. if you can see a blank wall and find deeper meaning, you'll like this. The writing and thoughts being this film are sophomoric and the movie is moronic Run away… Expand

1 of 6 users found this helpful15

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electronicoffeeJul 1, 2016

Probably the worst movie of the decade. Overrated fart-centric hipster crap. I mean really, this movie is bottom of the barrel and whoever funded this movie was clearly smoking crack.

3 of 20 users found this helpful317

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TitaniumDragonSep 23, 2017

Never have I seen a movie more obsessed with farting and masturbation.

This is a weird, weird movie, which I think you might have guessed from the trailer. Where this movie fails is in its pacing. This is a very, very slow-paced movie,Never have I seen a movie more obsessed with farting and masturbation.

This is a weird, weird movie, which I think you might have guessed from the trailer. Where this movie fails is in its pacing. This is a very, very slow-paced movie, despite being quite short. The first 20 minutes or so of the movie are consumed by the main character talking to himself and an inexplicably useful corpse; it takes until a good bit into the movie for the corpse to start talking back. From there, things get increasingly weird as the corpse, lacking human memories, has to have everything explained to it, which takes a turn towards the perverse, showing just what sorts of thing the living protagonist has on their mind.

Alas, the weirdness is not really enough to carry the movie through its slow pacing; very little actually happens, and while the trailer makes it look like the corpse's special abilities are going to be used a great deal, most of the things that the corpse ultimately does are actually *in* the trailer. Thus, while the movie sells itself on that strange premise, a lot of the movie is really about the shy protagonist struggling to demonstrate his personal value as, well, a person, via explaining what life is like to the talking corpse.

While the movie does pick up a bit from its initial very slow pacing, it never stops being very weird and full of bathroom humor - farts play a major role in the movie, as do erections, and the characters bond a bit while talking about masturbation. This, combined with the general slow pacing, ultimately proved extremely offputting to me, and while the movie tries to go for an emotional payoff with some of the twists at the end, the movie as a whole doesn't really feel coherent. Is it a comedy? Yes, sort of. Is it a drama? Also yes, sort of. But it never really manages to pull off either - I never laughed at the movie, and often ended up cringing instead, while the drama felt kind of generic, without any particularly interesting spin on it - the protagonist is a loser who doesn't really seem to be proactive about making his life better, why should we care?

In the end, I suspect that people who enjoy cringe comedies might get something out of this, but if cringey humor, farting, erections, and discussions about masturbation put you off, this is not the movie for you.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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