The Aristocrats – Movie Review
89 Minutes, Not Rated
Directed by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenze
Synopsis:
One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke–one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.
The Aristocrats is one of those apocryphal bits of entertainment lore. A legendary joke, sometimes called the funniest ever, passed among the comedic community, ever evolving, completely unique every time, save for the punchline: “The Aristocrats.”
Traveling the world speaking to comedians of all eras, the filmmakers discuss the history of the joke, as well as the many theories of what exactly makes it funny, as well as what each of them brings to the joke.
What’s the joke? Let me sum it up for you:
A man and/or his family goes to a talent agent and says, “Have I got an act for you!” When asked to describe or demonstrate it, the comedian gets to make the guts of the joke their own.
The comedian then describes a series of events, often starting tamely enough (think juggling, etc.), which quickly and inevitably devolves into a series of increasingly off-color and offensive actions, ranging from sex (between family members and/or their pets), to scatological humor (and consumption), up to and including sever physical violence, before sometimes winding up with a mundane act such as folding up a newspaper or taking a polite bow.
“What do you call that act?” the agent asks.
“The Aristocrats.”
That’s (what’s supposed to be) the joke.
To be clear, this joke isn’t really that funny, as such. It is, at its core, merely an excuse for a comedian to stretch his mental muscles as they reach farther and farther for ways to shock the audience before making the casual allusion, via the punchline, that it is society’s “betters” who behave like this, and thus, it’s fine.
That’s the “funny” bit.
Especially when an unexpected comedian tells it.
**FYI: I love dark humor. I love blue humor. I love bad language. I use it all the time. Literally, all the fucking time. Listen to the podcast; you’ll see.**
Sure, the discussion is had that the joke shouldn’t work in America because we don’t have “aristocrats,” and a variation of the joke uses the word “sophisticates” instead.
America certainly has those, and, as they (more often than not) consider themselves “above” the common man, any behavior they exhibit–however bizarre and/or offensive–is expected to be considered normal, or even praise-worthy, and thus, inoffensive, or humorous in its presumed banality.
What I took away at the end of this documentary of the “funniest joke ever” is that it’s more of an exercise amongst comedians more than it is a prop for general consumption, save for unique circumstances, such as when the film documents Gilbert Gottfried breaking it out at the Hugh Hefner roast shortly after 9/11, when another, tamer joke, was low-key booed due to it involving an airplane.
That’s when it hits the public consciousness, even if the public isn’t really aware of what the joke truly is.
It’s a warm-up, and stretch, and “Inside Baseball” moment between comics, when no one else is around. A way for them to stay connected to what makes comedy, comedy, at its core: offense.
I’ve long maintained that if a comedian isn’t offending someone (whether a group or individual), they’re not doing it right, and I believe that. Now, that offense should be spread around to everyone over time, not continually aimed in a single direction.
That becomes an attack, and that’s not really funny, even if any specific joke or bit–taken in a vacuum–might be.
The Aristocrats is currently streaming, though I watched it on Amazon Prime Video.
The Aristocrats features appearances from comedians such as George Carlin, Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Lewis Black, Drew Carey, Carrot Top, Billy Connolly, and Andy Dick.
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