The Aristocrats (2005)

Genre: Documentary

Directed by: Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza

Running time: 88 minutes

This is a documentary about an infamous dirty joke that has become very popular among comedians over the years. While rarely told on stage, loads of comedians have shared their own versions of The Aristocrats joke with their peers, constantly trying to outdo each other.

The premise is always the same: A man walks into a talent agent’s office trying to sell a stage act he performs with his family. The talent agent asks for a description of said act, and that is when the fun begins. The object of the joke teller is to stretch out this descriptive part as much as he or she can, all the while being as vulgar as possible. Most versions will involve acts of violence, incest, pedophilia, zoophilia, necrophilia, scatology or other things of that genre. After the long and colorful description is done, the talent agent, either disgusted or amazed, will ask how the man calls this stage act, and the punchline is: The Aristocrats.

Through this almost 90 minutes documentary, we hear excerpts of different versions that have been told through the years. Multiple comedians, male or female, also share their views on that infamous joke, which was supposedly Johnny Carson’s favorite. It was particularly nice to hear from George Carlin and Robin Williams, two great ones that I appreciated so very much and that I still miss today.

The most famous telling of The Aristocrats remains the one from Gilbert Gottfried. In the Comedy Central roast for Hugh Heffner, that was shot shortly after the 9/11 events, Gottfried told a joke related to the tragedy, and people started booing and screaming that it was too soon. So, the comedian started telling his own version of the infamous joke, causing quite the reaction.

Overall, The Aristocrats is a very entertaining documentary that is not for the faint of heart. The subject matter is filled with vulgarity. If you can take it, you will love it. I sure did.

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