Wrong Review
By David Kempler
Warped More Than Wrong
Quentin Dupieux's "Wrong" is unlike anything you will ever see. I can pretty much guarantee that. Whether that will turn out to be a good or bad thing for you is a tossup, but I am willing to go out on a limb and predict that it will not be something you will look back upon lovingly. Presumably Dupieux is shooting for surrealism with this incredibly offbeat piece. It's certainly the only explanation I can come up with. Considering his previous film, "Rubber", a tale of a psychopathic car tire, maybe he is headed more towards realism. You might think so, but you would be wrong.
Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) is a nebbishier version of David Arquette in appearance. In the first scene we see his alarm clock go to 7:60 instead of 8:00. At first you wonder what the point of that is. Dolph climbs out of bed and can't find his dog. He wanders outside in his bathrobe and sees one of his neighbors. The neighbor is a gentleman who ventures between coherent and incoherent. Dolph is only mildly put off by this conversation. Soon Dolph is on his way to work and when he opens the door to his office we get the message as to what we are in for. Seven or so workers are already at their desks, typing away at their computers. What is a bit unusual is that it is pouring rain inside the office and no one notices, cares, or finds it unusual. It is the norm there. Dolph has no reaction to it, either.
I could go on with plot points but they would not help you understand the plot or anything else. There is a story, albeit nonsensical, but Dupieux isn't interested in constructing logical situations or mainstream arcs that we are accustomed to. He is interested in making us feel disconnected to what we are watching and focusing more on which way he might be able to turn us. While I can't say it was engrossing, I wasn't bored. However, not being bored is the highest praise I can give to "Wrong". Nothing is much right here, but it's not entirely wrong, although I'm sure many of you will have trouble making it through to the end.
