SWISS ARMY MAN | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"SWISS ARMY MAN"
(2016) (Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Dramedy: A suicidal man marooned on a deserted island is given a new lease on life when a corpse washes up on shore and the two become "friends."

PLOT:

Hank (PAUL DANO) is a suicidal man who has been marooned on a deserted island for some time. He is about to hang himself when he spots a male dead body (DANIEL RADCLIFFE) that has washed up on the beach. Hank still nearly hangs himself, but he is able to free himself from the noose and rush over to the dead body. He administers CPR, but it only seems to trigger a flatulence reflex. The corpse becomes so spectacularly flatulent that Hank is able to ride him like a jet ski off the island and out to sea.

He soon loses control and loses consciousness and wakes up on another beach on the edge of a thick wilderness. The dead body has washed up with him, and Hank sets off with the corpse into the woods to try and find civilization. He eventually comes to believe the corpse has amazing powers, reacquires the ability of speech, and believes his name to be Manny.

Together, Hank and Manny form an offbeat friendship and Manny comes to ask about all things related to Hank and the world -- chiefly love, sex, masturbation, and family ... specifically Hank's strained relationship with his father (RICHARD GROSS) in the years following the passing of his mom at a young age. Manny falls for a photo of a woman named Sarah (MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD) on Hank's dying cell phone, who turns out to be a young female he had stalked on a bus for many days before getting lost at sea. This gives him an erection that Hank believes is a compass back to civilization. Is it all in his mind, or is Manny really a reanimated being who is really helping him?

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: This is a pretty hard R rating. But anytime you have the actor who played Harry Potter himself in a featured role, there will be some interest.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For language and sexual material.

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.