Chafed Elbows (1966)
8/10
feels like the cinematic equivalent of a Kurt Vonnegut novel
31 December 2016
This is among the strangest and most plot less comedies I have ever seen. After thinking about the film, I've realized that it the protagonist manages to be insane and incestuous murderer. The film sort of follows him around over the course of two "mental breakdowns" in which he encounters a "sock sniffer", marries his own mother, visits Heaven, and much more. The film is wonderfully satirical, and it makes fun of almost everything, much like the very best of Kurt Vonnegut's novels.

It's a highly creative work from a highly creative director, the underground filmmaker Robert Downey, Sr. At this point, I'm beginning to really adore Downey Sr.'s sense of humor. It's always very satirical, dark, and offensive, and his filmmaking style is highly experimental, surrealistic, and absurd. All of these elements of humor and filmmaking are right up my alley and it seems that I'm really going to enjoy the rest of the films on the "Up All Night with Robert Downey Sr." eclipse set from the Criterion Collection. I'm seriously looking forward to "Putney Swope"!
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