The Aristocrats [2005]
Director: Paul Provenza
(Starring, among many others, Kevin Pollak, George Carlin, Hank Azaria, Paul Reiser, Bob Saget, etc. The list goes on and on.)
The Aristocrats is a documentary about a legendary joke, supposedly first done at private parties hosted by Chevy Chase, which soon became known among the comedy elite as a comedian’s joke. It was the filthiest, vilest, crudest, darkest and most shocking thing the comedian could come up with, poured into the mold of a set formula.
A man, his wife, his two children betsy and jimmy, age 11 and 9, their dog rover and his 89-year-old mother-in-law walk into the office of a talent agent. The man introduces everyone and tells the agent that he has an act – a family act – that he would like the agent to represent. The agent says, no, I’m sorry, I don’t do family acts, you’ll have to find someone else to represent you. No, says the man, you really have to see this, it’s really one of a kind, and I would really appreciate it if we could give you a demonstration of our act. If then you decide you don’t want to represent us, then that will be final, but please give us a chance. Alright, says the agent, show me your act.
Insert horrible shocking stuff that the family proceeds to do to one another, including, but not limited to, beastiality, incest and mutilation.
After the preformance, the agent’s mouth drops down to his desk, and bewildered he asks the man; What do you call your act? The man snaps his fingers bon vivantly and says; “The Aristocrats!”
***
What can I say…it’s something else. The joke is simple, and when told by a thousand comedians, some of whom you know and love from sweet-as-honey sitcoms like Full House, others you’ve seen do shocking things as well, it’s surprising how long it takes for it to get old. Every comedian does it in a different way, has a different twist, adds a different sick element to it, resulting in much hilarity on my part. This documentary is definitely not for everyone, but I thought it was incredible. :)
