[Frameworks] humorous experimental films

[David Tetzlaff]

I'm all for droll humor, but I wouldn't call Wavelength a laugh riot. It's a long wait before Hollis shows up. I think there's a lot of humor in Frampton, especially Hapax Legomena 1-3 [(nostalgia), Critical Mass, Poetic Justice) but it's subtle, and tickles the back of your brain more than boinking your funnybone.

Experimental films are rarely 'just' funny. Where you find humor it's often mixed in a very unstable balance with darkness. "How can I shave when I can't think of s reason for living?" Cracks me up every time. Cause I've already been through the angst straight, you know.

For American films, some that come to mind:
The Geography of the Body, (Willard Maas) which is the rare straightforward comedy.
The End, (Christopher Maclaine) which is intermittently hilarious and apocalyptic.
Flaming Creatures (Jack Smith) (it helps if you know it's a comedy going in)
Hold Me While I'm Naked, Sins of the Fleshapoids and other early George and Mike Kuchar stuff.
Oh Dem Watermelons (Robert Nelson)
Blonde Cobra (Ken Jacobs) again funny parts amidst a darker vision overall
Recreation (Robert Breer)
New Improved Institutional Quality (George Landow aka Owen Land)

other Breer, Nelson and Landow works also have their share of humor

Then there are some experimental films that are more 'fun' than funny, such as Cosmic Ray by Bruce Conner, Roger Beebe's TB/TX Dance, Peace Mandala by Paul Sharits.

good luck, (or good yuck) "Let there be rejoicing!"

djt