Swiss Army Man

Is this some kind of joke? If so, most of us didn't find it very funny, because we were subjected to a lengthy R-rated treatise on the Etiquette of Farting. Sad-sack actor Paul Dano ("Prisoners") plays a suicidal man, lost in the wilderness. He ends up schlepping a corpse with him. I can't tell you what the corpse does (other than fart) without being accused of divulging spoilers, so...

Writers/directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("My Best Friend's Wedding") have cobbled together an unusual twosome which defies all convention (life after life?), convinces us we are witnessing insanity (playing "Let's pretend"), and breaks all natural laws (when and how did he shave?). I know. I know. Picky, picky.

The cast:

• Paul Dano ("Love & Mercy") is Hank, alienated from his friends and family for reasons that we found obscure and confusing, stranded on a rocky island humming the theme from "Jurassic Park." He is preparing to hang himself, but he doesn't want to die alone. He spots a corpse floating onto the beach which he retrieves for companionship.
• Daniel Radcliff ("Harry Potter") Manny may be dead, but he is the "Swiss Army Man" of the title. He interacts with our hero in his own unique way (starting with those farts).

As the situation became more and more bizarre, the more and more I found myself disliking it. Making this movie was evidently a blast for the actors. It's too bad they thought their audience would be equally diverted. The R-rated script treated us to whimsy, profanity, insanity and absolutely the most inane, illogical plot I've seen in years. If YOU can make sense out of it, please tell me what happened!

Full disclosure: One man in the screening audience said he thought it was "funny."

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See for yourself

http://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi1901573401 

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