TDF Really Works (Ari Aster, 2011, USA)

TDF Really Works is a 2011 short film by Ari Aster. The film opens with an exterior shot of a house, with a voiceover of a man cracking a joke. The film then transitions to inside the house, where two men are laughing at the joke. The other man returns the joke and proceeds to fart. The other man (played by Aster) claims that the joke is "not funny anymore." Aster begins an advertisement for a product called - Tino's Dick Fart. The other man asks for an explanation of how the product works, and Aster begins explaining the process, step-by-step. This is accompanied by infomercial-style graphics that show the step-by-step process of the "installation" of the machine. Aster guides us through the various warnings associated with TDF ("do not drink milk for the next four years"). A testimonial tells us: "The blood lets you know it's working." The film concludes with a demonstration of the product, which we see with air blowing into the two men's faces. The film concludes with an infomercial-style "call now" screen.

This short film is by far the least significant in Aster's early filmography, and I'm not sure if it qualifies as a proper short film, although it has an IMDb page. It seems to be heavily inspired by Adult Swim-style comedy, most notably Tim and Eric. Still, the film is funny and worth a watch for Aster completists, although not anyone else. It makes us curious to see his feature-length attempt at comedy with the upcoming Disappointment Blvd. Aster's early work shows explorations with comedy just as much as horror, so it is interesting to see that his first two features leaned so heavily into the horror genre. He does not envision himself solely as a horror filmmaker, but as a filmmaker who can dabble in many genres.

5/10