Swiss Army Man

A24 | Release Date: June 24, 2016

7.3	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 328 Ratings

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smiyamotOct 5, 2016

This story had a funny premise that I thought would go somewhere. But it meandered about and did not come to a conclusion, at least none that I could see.

4 of 4 users found this helpful40

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NightReviewsAug 23, 2016

Going into Swiss Army Man, you cannot help but be prepared for the preposterous narrative at hand. I mean, the narrative is simple, well, kind of simple…well, not really.

The newest film to feature the actor who once played one of the mostGoing into Swiss Army Man, you cannot help but be prepared for the preposterous narrative at hand. I mean, the narrative is simple, well, kind of simple…well, not really.

The newest film to feature the actor who once played one of the most magical and profitable wizards in the film world, seems to have taken another role which would add to his very large attempt of leaping him away, and disassociating himself afar from that world altogether. What better way to do it than play a kinda/sorta dead corpse who farts his way to safety, guides his best friend Hank (Paul Dano) with the use of his erection, and vulgars his dialogue at every instance with the female reproductive system.

Okay so, lets try to get this right, as best as possible.

Swiss Army Man tells the story of Hank, played by Paul Dano, a man who seems to be deserted on an island, with barely any willingness to live. Moments before he is about to kill himself, he sees a body washed upon the shore. Unbuckling the belt tied around his neck, he makes his way to the deceased body. Upon the discovery that the body is in fact dead, he hears the body pop up random farts and sounds, giving the illusion of life at times. Disillusioned by the body altogether, he salvages it and begins using it as a purpose to live.

Dressing the corpse up, talking to it and interacting with it, Hank seems to have found a new purpose, that is until, the body, Manny (Daniel Radcliffe) begins to talk back. In a panic, Hank punches the corpse and runs away. Shortly after, Manny begins inhabiting certain skills and tools needed for Hank’s survival, these skills include; farting fire, slingshotting stuff, axing things, etc. But don’t get it twisted, the body is still dead. As the relationship between Manny and Hank begins to intensify, Hank shares with Manny the truths about women, sex and the world, revolving each and every story around the love of Hank’s life, Sarah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). As the days pass and the hope for survival begins to become more real, Hank soon realizes that, Manny may just be the soul-mate he has always hoped for and desired.

Going into the film, I could already tell that the movie was going to play quite loosely with one of my most examined and tropes of cinema; augmented reality with reality itself. Just by looking at the trailers, the film blends quite effortlessly the seriousness of a stranded man, with the imagination of a man who creates an entity needed for his survival; Manny essentially becomes the Wilson to Tom Hank’s character in Cast Away. In only difference is, Wilson never spoke back, interacted or physically helped Chuck Nolan to survive. Now, the film is obviously saying a lot and making a huge statement about mental health. Is Hank sick? Is there even a body? What is his relationship with the people outside this island? Who is Sarah to Hank? All these question, although never really fully answered, are given weight towards the understanding of a very, either sick, or extremely passionate man.

One my biggest pet peeves about the use of imagination in cinema is when it tries to justify itself as reality. It really isn’t that hard; any Marvel movie made from this point on, tries to provide some sort of justification how any of the stuff can happen, within the mythos of the cinematic world to the real world. In other films, say, Warcraft for example, the film establishes itself as work of fictions right away. With Swiss Army Man, the film seems to take itself more seriously than it should, mostly at all times. Directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who refer to themselves as DanielS, find this very disturbing and at times, tantalizing mix of making the film extremely believable and at time totally and completely and utterly unbelievable, the embodiment of reality can be found no where yet tries to justify itself as such.

The film itself is ridiculous, outrageous and yes, like many have been calling it, unlike anything you have or will ever see on the silver screen, but for once in my life, I don’t necessarily think that that statement is really a good one. I mean, Hank, who goes from one island to a forestry area by riding his dead corpse friend as a jet-ski; Manny fights off bears, he has a erect penis compass, Manny is a swiss army tool of crazy possibilities and it never really digs deep.

While speaking to others about the reception of the film, it does seem to have a very different response out of everyone who sees it. I mean, after all, the DanielS are the men responsible for the outlandish Turn Down for What music video featuring DJ Snake and Lil Jon, and we all know how funny and ludicrous that video is.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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AquaMorphOct 22, 2016

Yeah that was weird. But in a mixed bag kind of way. Ranging from good weird to cringe to just bad. Parts really worked and others just fell flat on its face.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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TVJerryJul 3, 2016

Paul Dano is a man stranded on a deserted island. As he's about to kill himself, a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up. But this is no ordinary stiff: his farts can be used for locomotion, his mouth spouts clean water and his body hasPaul Dano is a man stranded on a deserted island. As he's about to kill himself, a corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) washes up. But this is no ordinary stiff: his farts can be used for locomotion, his mouth spouts clean water and his body has additional unusual applications (hence, the title). This starts out as a wacky, funny premise, but their freaky friendship slows into lots of verbal intercourse about love (what else?), belonging and other tedious existential debate. This feels like a Charlie Kaufman concept, but lacks the genius to carry it off. A highly-original and rollickingly-weird premise that gets bogged down with too much message, repetition of the same joke and a lack of follow-thru on the imagination.… Expand

1 of 5 users found this helpful14

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psychomuseApr 27, 2019

Starts out strong, with the promise of an interesting, quirky adventure (riding a fart-powered corpse atop the waves), then quickly runs out of gas, pun intended. There's just not enough fuel here to power this strange ride to the end.