What Did Jack Do?: David Lynch's transcendent short film on Netflix features a talking monkey...and a love song

David Lynch, the visionary behind masterpieces such as David Lynch Cooks Quinoa and DumbLand, has done it yet again. His latest short, What Did Jack Do?, recently dropped on Netflix without any warning, catching unsuspecting and innocent bingers off guard. The 17-minute surreal mind-bender sees a detective (played by Lynch himself) interrogate a capuchin monkey who may have possibly committed a murder. [caption id=“attachment_7941611” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  A still from What Did Jack Do?[/caption] A viewer, who did not wish to be named, recalls the moment he accidentally played the film after coming across the image of a “cute monkey” as the thumbnail. “I thought… I thought it would be one of them cuddly animal pictures, you know? And then it starts and looks real old and there is this monkey sitting on a chair all suited up. I was fine up to that point, to be honest. But then this white haired fella walks in and sits across the monkey and starts talking to him. A good looking fella, let me tell you that, but real strange. The monkey… oh lord have mercy… the monkey starts talking! And it’s not your average animal talking Hollywood trickery, I’ve seen them all Lion Pimp and whatnot, this was something else, boy. The lips… the way they moved… Those teeth… And the little thing had the voice of the devil. Talking about cocks and whatnot.” Eight-year-old Billy (last name withheld) fell into a similar trap. The boy, whose liberal-minded parents have given him access to their tablet and Netflix account, claims the film started playing by itself “as if by some magic”. Billy, now showing signs of trauma, says he wasn’t actually paying much attention to what was happening in the film as he was simultaneously occupied by his personal smartphone, until suddenly the monkey broke into a song. What happened next he can barely recall, but his parents now report that he has been displaying violent reactions to the word “love”. Doctors are puzzled, but not entirely surprised. “I saw that film too. It might take years for little Billy to recover, if he recovers at all. He might eventually forget about the film, but the monkey and his song will forever live inside him,” says Dr Franz, recently divorced. [caption id=“attachment_7941621” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Another still from What Did Jack Do?[/caption] Yet another viewer, who also didn’t wish to be named but would like to be addressed as pistachio_baby, said the film was the most transcending experience of his life. “As soon as I saw Mr Lynch walk into the frame, boy I was r-e-a-d-y. Between you and me, I wasn’t even sure what I was watching halfway through, but I l-o-v-e-d every second of it. Punchlines after punchlines, man. I was d-y-i-n-g. It was surreal, funny, deep, meaningful, and utter senselessness,” says _baby. His favourite dialogues include, “Let’s say for argument’s sake I was a horse. Even then it would be hard to imagine how hard my first wife rode my ass,” said by the monkey Jack, and “I know why the chicken crossed the road," by Mr Lynch. “I wish someone would inject this film into my veins,” he concludes. For the sake of this transparency, yous truly went ahead and watched the short himself — and was moved to tears. I came away with a trillion questions about life, but also a feeling of great gratitude in my heart. Without a shred of doubt, we endorse and highly recommend this film here at Firstpost. But do Mr Lynch a favour and don’t watch it on your f–king phone.