Movie Review: Swiss Army Man
By Bill Wine
KYW Newsradio
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Like a swiss army knife, Swiss Army Man has several purposes and is easily concealed.
It may be, first of all, the quirkiest odd-couple flick ever made, because this adventure dramedy goes its own way and then some.
Of course, that doesn't mean we necessarily want to follow it to wherever it's going. Because despite an admirable willingness to forsake narrative formula, Swiss Army Man nearly drowns in its own excess. Paul Dano plays castaway Hank , a sad sack well down on his luck and stranded on a desert island in the Pacific Ocean, having lost all hope of ever getting home again and in the company of Sarah, the woman he loves from afar, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
He is about to commit suicide when he notices a corpse wash up on the beach.
He names it Manny and soon discovers that the corpse, played by Daniel Radcliffe – you read that right: shades of Weekend at Bernie's – not only can speak but has a host of unusual supernatural abilities.
Yep, he's a multi-purpose cadaver. Harry Potter, how far you've fallen. Maybe, figures Hank, Manny's special powers can help him get home. To Sarah.
And maybe, we figure, this guy Hank is just plain off his nut and this is all just a hallucination.
Swiss Army Man is nothing if not unique and unforgettable, two qualities that don't necessarily result in pleasing viewers, to be sure. In this case, the concentration on what we might politely describe as surprising and relentless bodily functions will put off many otherwise patient and forgiving viewers.
Let's just say, for purposes of perspective, that on the flatulence scale and without a baked bean in sight, Swiss Army Man leaves Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles in the dust.
Memo to fledgling filmmakers: a little of this methane mythology goes a long way. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the debuting writer-directors – music video veterans who call themselves Daniels -- embrace the self-conscious weirdness of their absurdist existential exercise to a degree that pretty much suffocates any possibility of delivering a satisfyingly developed and complete finished package.
Instead, their film often feels more like a crazed, comedic music video that's been stretched awkwardly into feature length. These directors aren't just willing to antagonize viewers; they seem to want to. Well, if that's the case, they're going to get their wish. They may also discover that their R-rated film, certainly not targeted at ten-year-olds, may indeed enthrall any accompanied-by-an-adult ten-year-old, for whom there is never enough on-screen cheese cutting.
But don't blame Dano and Radcliffe, the former painting a subtle portrait of loneliness, the latter offering a remarkable parade of slapstick stunts, and both of whom seem to commit to the concept wholeheartedly as good sports if not master thespians. So we'll maroon 2 stars out of 4 for the bizarre Swiss Army Man, an oddball comedy-drama that scores points for originality, but runs out of figurative gas long before it runs out of the – help, somebody, please -- literal stuff.
