Ricky Lee, a dim-witted ex-con, meets Beth-Ann, a dim-witted waitress, in an Idaho diner. They take off in his car, or actually not his car, to Washington and begin an affair. Beth-Ann, a lonely romance-novel addict, is hopelessly enamored; Ricky is just in it for the (constant) sex. Beth's longing to visit California and Ricky's longing for quick cash leads them into a desperate situation. Fucking their way to Paradise, they botch a stick-up and are dispatched to the other world by California's lethal injection gurney.
Using a variety of avant-garde visual and narrative techniques, such as montage, collages, split screens and lengthy, tongue-in-cheek monologues, and a very droll and black sense of humor, Frame up tells a tragicomic story of two total losers in love.
1993 | 35mm Panavision | Color | Sound | 91 minutes
Writer, director, editor and cinematographer: Jon Jost
Graphics and animation: Jon Jost
Producer: Jon Jost
Music: Jon A. English
With: Nancy Carlin, Howard Swain, Richard Reynolds, Kate Sannella
Official selection: Berlin, San Francisco, and Sundance Film Festivals