Y'all Ready for This? (Movie Review: "The Aristocrats" )

aristocrats banner.jpg

In the nature of things, life is "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short." Few of us would agree with Thomas Hobbes' famous condemnation of humanity's default condition, and yet our days aren't all picnics at Barton Springs with puppies and rainbows. As long as life is less than perfect, jokes are conducive to happiness, if not out-and-out necessary. Taking features of the external world—from banana peels to sectarian struggle—jokes turn tragedy or banality into comedy. The laughs may be fleeting, but they're better than fruit-based refuse and sensitivity training.

But in another sense, humor is undeniably antisocial. Some jokes exploit our most basic assumptions about meaning, undermining our security for a silly gag. Others make light of the very situations that in real life cause us tremendous pain.

Penn Gillette's documentary ”The Aristocrats,” which opens in Austin on Friday, highlights these contradictions by providing a cultural history of one particularly dirty joke, and is much zippier than that description makes it out to be. "The Aristocrats" (the joke) can be told many ways, but most versions include, at minimum, six or seven unpleasant things: incest, bestiality, sibling rivalry, misplaced bodily fluids, rape, adultery, child abuse, elder abuse, misogyny, dismemberment, social climbing, delusions of grandeur, death, agents and/or aspiring actors. At the screening we attended, Austinist was particularly pleased to note the movie's broad-based appeal, and many theatergoers brought their children.

The movie covers dozens of versions of the joke, provided by mostly funny people, from well-known performers (Jon Stewart, George Carlin, Paul Reiser, Sarah Silverman, Rip Torn, an unrecognizable Drew Carey, an inexplicable Bob Saget) to obscure writer/producers (they're obscure). A mime tells the joke, to great effect, as do Penn & Teller, who have certainly recovered well from that time they were mauled by a snow-white tiger. It even includes a rendition by Robin Williams, who has long victimized Americans by foisting his tedious manias on audiences under the guise of comedy, and who is depicted in the film as an exile in the desert.

Those readers infected by the back-to-school spirit should rest assured that the movie provides plenty of food for thought, as it prompts one to think about why we find humor where we do. Even before the movie was over, Austinist was becoming more neurotic about senses of humor than ever before. For example, the woman sitting next to us, one-half of a pleasant middle-aged couple, got her biggest laugh of the evening from a throwaway joke about a restaurant patron who can't decide whether to send a priest seated adjacently a bottle of wine or a Cub Scout. Which wasn't at all the funniest thing in the movie. However, that is beside the point. "The Aristocrats" is fucking hilarious, which is reason enough to see a movie, we think.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Erica in Arts & Entertainment on August 25, 2005 1:42 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

odam

i have never heard/seen that much laughter in a theater ever. well, maybe when i saw Raw in the theater. or enemy mine. unreal. great stuff. gilbert godfried is a legend.

edward

I haven't seen it yet, but from what I understand much of the movie is a compilation of (not necessarily new) clips of commedians telling their version of this joke.

Miggo

You mean, this is just coming out?

I must've seen the clip where Cartman tells the joke over a year ago. I figured that it was already out due to the fact that EVERYONE who mentions this movie to me brings up Bob Saget's joke.

So, is this movie old or is my memory just real horrendous?

Allen

Grieder's back!!

AEW

I too love Eddie, but he's kind of dissappointing in this. He doesn't seem to get the joke.

mark hammer

i wish theyhad that little michelle kid from full house on there. that would be good.

poe

George Carlin and Sarah Silverman, in my opinion, have crafted the best versions of the joke. The Saget bit really isn't funny (certainly not as funny as he seems to think it is) and poor Eddie Izzard just seems...befuddled. Lot's of great moments, though - definitely worth seeing.

edward

Basically, the joke is an opportunity for commedians to try to be as offensive as possible. South Park rises to challenge here.

odam

you beat me to it, bre. darn you.

anywho...was just going to say, i saw Saget once do stand-up in LA....verrry blue. he's naughty. tee hee

i will be the one at alamo south tomorrow cackling like a hyenia. yea, i can't spell..sow aht

Bre

I heard Eddie Izzard is in it. Which is reason enough for me to watch ANYthing. I could watch that man eat toast. He'd have to be wearing stilettos, mind you.

And Bob Saget is notoriously nasty. Danny Tanner was a total facade.