Carrying on the great tradition of deadpan mockumentaries pioneered by the incomparable Christopher Guest ("Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", "A Mighty Wind", and the masterpiece that started them all, "Spinal Tap"), here we have one from newcomer Rhett Smith, and it's probably the bizarrest story of them all:
An amateur documentary set to record a wedding turns unexpectedly WTF when the groom starts growing a new appendage out of his ribcage. The film wastes no time setting this up, there's no stupid contrived backstory, and it's all laid out pretty clearly as if to announce to the audience, "if you can't buy the 1st scene then don't waste your time."
Note: the 1st scene features a hilarious cameo by Kristen Wiig who plays a snobby tuxedo shop salesperson, more judgmental than your cranky grandmother, so the 1st scene launches the movie with flying colors.
The following scenes take us to the limits of absurdism as we meet the bride who is as plastic as her fingernails, and her family which is harboring a not-so-secret hatred for the groom - all exacerbated by the shocking revelation of his new little flesh friend.
Next we roll up our sleeves and really get into it. Should the groom have his thingy cut off? Or should he keep it? Does he even have the right to choose what to do with his body? The whole thing prompts a controversial debate where we Wade into murky waters without so much as a Roe boat. But wait, there's more. We simultaneously enter the debate over whether the groom has the right to be openly the way he is, or should he stay in the closet? After all, this thing is an aberration of nature, so say the protesters in the street who say he's going to hell if he keeps it. Aha see what the writers did there? They switched the liberal & conservative sides on us.
Anyone who likes to make a political issue out of films will find themselves choking on their popcorn because this one defies all agendas. Or rather, it points out how equally stupid each agenda can be. The film even takes aim at the cults of support groups (with a lol worthy Alcoholics Anonymous parody) where our hero meets others suffering with his problem, and they're a hundred times more batty than anyone else in his life.
This is like Christopher Guest on steroids. The satire, irony and parody is so thick you can make a pudding pop out of it. But herein lies perhaps the film's biggest problem. How long can you maintain such an extreme departure from reality? How long can an audience take nonstop insanity before choking on it? In all fairness, the creators of "Airplane!" took us for 88 minutes. But Airplane was a very different film full of sight gags, punchy one liners and slapstick."Enigma" rather straddles silly & serious, idiotic & intelligent. That makes it more challenging to those who are looking for a knee slapping comedy (which it is).
But don't let that criticism turn you off. If you're a fan of deadpan bizarre comedy, satire, sarcasm & irony, then definitely give this gem a spin. It's funnier than a 3rd nipple.
