10 Movies That Worked Despite Their Absurd Premise
4. Swiss Army Man
Swiss Army Man is a movie that made headlines upon its announcement, thanks to its ridiculous premise. Starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, it tells the story of a man (Dano) marooned on a desert island. At the peak of hopelessness, he discovers a corpse (Radcliffe) as it washes up on the beach. His hope for survival is renewed when he discovers that the body has a bizarre penchant for particularly strong flatulence, proceeding to use it as a makeshift raft, propelled by its farts.
Other oddities include the corpse slowly regaining consciousness and the ability to talk in simple sentences, a swimsuit magazine being used to fuel an erection compass and a tussle with a bear culminating in an ignited toot. It's as balls-to-the-wall bizarre as it sounds, a sort of unhinged Castaway for the modern age.
Yet most impressively, despite how juvenile and strange it sounds, the movie works. It's in turns laugh-out-loud funny, tender and a surprisingly effective deranged romance. This is topped off with two lead performers that are giving their all to this seemingly unsalvageable concept. Much like Radcliffe's Manny, Swiss Army Man appears to be dead on arrival but, in reality, is brimming with life.