The Aristocrats (***1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
A guy walks into a talent agent’s office and says “Boy,
have I got an act for you!” There you have the standard
opening to possibly the filthiest joke ever imagined. And it’s
one you haven’t heard. Scores of comedians take turns
telling their version of this outrageous joke that’s
been passed around and told amongst fellow comics since the
vaudeville days. Here’s your chance to get in on the
joke…if you can stomach it.
The movie is more than just a hundred people telling their
rendition of this nasty joke. In fact, the documentary does
such a good job analyzing it that my job as a critic is limited.
It starts off giving us a brief history followed by the simplest,
pared down version you’ll ever hear. With all the hype
behind the movie exclaiming how raucously hilarious it is I
was a little worried. That’s it? The punchline is “the
aristocrats?” For supposedly being the funniest joke
ever created, the ending is rather satirical and dry. But soon
you learn (and they explain) that the humor and the purposed
of the joke is the body of the text, not the conclusion.
The movie steamrolls from here. I can’t really say that
each is funnier than the next, but some of them are pretty
damn hilarious. The joke is meant to be a freewheeling form
of entertainment. You’re given the set-up (see above)
and a cast of characters – a husband and wife, their
kids, and if you want to add pets and grandparents, then all
the better. Now, have their stage show be the vilest, disgusting,
potentially illegal, disturbing, vomit inducing acts imaginable.
Close it off with the punchline, “That’s horrible.
What do you call yourselves?” “(See above).” The
greatness of the joke comes from the storyteller. Some of the
best versions of the joke (obviously not seen in the movie)
have gone on for hours. I could go on and wax poetic about
it, but like I said, the documentary does a pretty good job
of deconstructing it and its various permutations already.
Some people are much funnier than others, but either way the
cast of comedians is jam packed with recognizable faces (even
if you may not remember their names). Having grown up watching
a lot of stand-up comedy on television, it was fun just to
see of those familiar, yet far from the spotlight performers
from the 80s make an appearance. There are greats from several
key eras represented here. It really helps flesh out the history
and the progression of comedy in general.
My main complaint is that the technical side of the movie
doesn’t have the same polish as the structure. Director
and stand-up comedian Paul Provenza (host of Nickelodeon’s “Kid’s
Court”) co-edits the film with a guy named Emery Emery.
They wisely use two cameras, but feel the urge to cut between
them in a completely random fashion. But to their credit, they
whittle down all of this material into a reasonably sized chunk
of a movie. Aside from the beginning, there aren’t really
any dull points and those not all too familiar with some of
these names may find some new favorite comedians. The joke,
and thus the movie, isn’t meant for anyone who get easily
offended or who can’t stand vulgarity. But, come on.
It’s just a joke.
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