It's strange when you come out from a film sore with laughing but still feel somewhat disappointed. It took a long time for my jaw to feel as though it was back in its proper place after this film violated me. The problem was that the film seemed to get tired of making me laugh halfway through and, instead, started finishing off some loose ends the directors should have left on the cutting room floor. Maybe Robin Williams would have been annoyed if his awful "pianist" joke had been cut out. I hate Robin Williams since he stopped doing cocaine.
The idea of
The Aristocrats is simple. A joke has been passed down from comedian to comedian where the idea seems to be to be as disgusting as you can. The premise of the joke is always the same. A family act goes into a talent agent's to show their act. The agent is then witness to scenes so disgusting that you can't help but double over in laughter. Afterwards the agent asks for the act's name. The answer is "The Aristocrats".
Here is the "South Park" version if you need to see it.
The joke, itself, isn't that funny. There's a slight chuckle at the idea that such a crude display should have such a polite, well-to-do name but, in all honesty it's just the way world class comedians can make a joke you've heard many times before funnier every time you hear it.
The glory of this joke is you know what's coming but they're about to take it further than you've seen it before. It's like a great jazz player playing a well-known tune in his own style or Pavarotti hitting the same note hundreds of men have hit before him but just doing it better.
The worst thing to do to a joke, to make it unfunny, is to explain it. Yet this film explains this joke from every conceivable angle, from 100 different comedians, and eventually it drags. The film however is a must see. You will spend 30 minutes rolling in the isles with laughter. George Carlin gives a beautiful version without the need to get too graphic, Kevin Pollak does his whilst doing a spot on Christopher Walken impression, Paul Reiser kills it (but, then again, he is shit), Emo Phillips proves he's not as good a comedian as everyone else thinks he is and Hank Azaria shows off some amazing voice talent.
For the first half hour of the film it's perfectly edited. Throwing in the odd "version" of the joke but mostly talking about it. When they start talking about people using shit in the joke the first person to speak is George Carlin then other comedians take it further, when they first mention incest, it's Carlin. Before other comedians act. This worked brilliantly. It gave the film a structure but, maybe George Carlin got bored, they ended up all over the place towards the end and Drew Carey is no George Carlin.
Some version of the joke hit, some miss, some of the comedians' stories and insights are hilarious, some drag on. It probably misses more than it hits but when it hits it's worth it. An absolute must see for any fan of sick humour or anyone who wants to know how to commit paedophilia and anal rape through the medium of mime.
Go here for the chance to send your own version in for the DVD release and to read some reviews with a sense of structure to them:
http://www.thearistocrats.com
