The Aristocrats [2005]

The Aristocrats (2005)



http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436078/




The Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary film about the formerly obscure dirty joke of the same name. It was conceived and produced by comedians Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, edited by Emery Emery, and released to theaters by THINKFilm. The film is dedicated to Johnny Carson, as "The Aristocrats" was said to be his favorite joke.



"The Aristocrats" is a longstanding transgressive joke amongst comedians, in which the setup and punchline are almost always the same (or similar). It is the joke's midsection — which may be as long as the teller prefers and is often completely improvised — that makes or breaks a particular rendition.



The film itself consists of interviews with various comedians and actors, usually in candid settings. The interviewees engage both in telling their own versions of the joke, and in reminiscing about their experiences with it, the joke's place in comedy history, and even dissecting the logic behind the joke's appeal.



While most of the filmed versions of the joke follow the standard format of a raunchy description followed by the punchline of "the Aristocrats", some versions do vary the joke. Two tellings of it, including that of comedienne Wendy Liebman invert the joke by describing an elegant and beautiful performance act which has been given a lewd and transgressive name. Actor Taylor Negron tells his joke as a mixture of salacious sex acts and calmly delivered observations on life.



The following comedians are featured in the film, telling the joke themselves and/or providing substantial commentary on its history:



Chris Albrecht Jason Alexander Hank Azaria Shelley Berman Billy the Mime Lewis Black David Brenner Mario Cantone Drew Carey George Carlin Mark Cohen Carrot Top Billy Connolly Tim Conway Pat Cooper Wayne Cotter Andy Dick Frank DiGiacomo Phyllis Diller Susie Essman Carrie Fisher Joe Franklin Todd Glass Judy Gold Whoopi Goldberg Eddie Gorodetsky Gilbert Gottfried Dana Gould Allan Havey Eric Idle Dom Irrera Eddie Izzard Richard Jeni Jake Johannsen The Amazing Johnathan Alan Kirschenbaum Jay Kogen Sue Kolinsky Paul Krassner Cathy Ladman Lisa Lampanelli Richard Lewis Wendy Liebman Bill Maher Howie Mandel Merrill Markoe Jay Marshall Jackie Martling Chuck McCann Michael McKean Eric Mead Larry Miller Martin Mull Kevin Nealon Taylor Negron The Onion editorial staff Otto and George Rick Overton Gary Owens Trey Parker, Matt Stone (South Park voices) The Passing Zone Penn & Teller Emo Philips Peter Pitofsky Kevin Pollak Paul Reiser Andy Richter Don Rickles Chris Rock Gregg Rogell Jeffrey Ross Jon Ross Rita Rudner Bob Saget T. Sean Shannon Harry Shearer Sarah Silverman Bobby Slayton The Smothers Brothers Carrie Snow Doug Stanhope David Steinberg Jon Stewart Larry Storch Rip Taylor Dave Thomas Johnny Thompson Peter Tilden Bruce Vilanch Fred Willard Robin Williams

Steven Wright



Many other comedians were filmed but not included due to time constraints. According to a letter to critic Roger Ebert from Penn Jillette, Buddy Hackett and Rodney Dangerfield were both intended to be included, but died before they could be filmed. Jillette also indicated that, this being Johnny Carson's favorite joke, Carson was also invited to appear, but declined.



In the film, Sarah Silverman tells a version of the joke as if it were autobiographical and she had been one of the "Aristocrats" performers as a child. Silverman builds the story to include her family being booked on the The Joe Franklin Show, and ends with her punch line: a deadpan allegation that Franklin had raped her during a phony rehearsal for the show. The New Yorker reported that Sarah Silverman's telling of the joke led veteran talk show host Joe Franklin, who is also featured in the film, to consider filing a defamation lawsuit against the comedian.



The theater chain AMC refused to show the movie on any of its 3,500+ screens. The theater company tried to avoid an overt ban, by claiming the film had a very limited appeal, causing comedian and co-producer Penn Jillette to comment to MSNBC, "It's the kind of thing that makes you go 'Come on, play fair.' It's not like we're trying to slide this by anybody by calling it Love Bug 2: Herbie Takes It Up the Ass."



The film includes footage of Gilbert Gottfried's telling of the joke at a Comedy Central/Friars Club roast of Hugh Hefner which had been almost entirely censored when aired on television. Taped not long after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the incident occurred at a time when, according to one of the commentators in the Aristocrats film, entertainers were uncertain how much comedy was allowed in the aftermath of the attacks. Gottfried followed Rob Schneider, who had received mixed results with his stand-up comedy performance in Hefner's honor. Gottfried began his performance with a joke in which he claimed to have to catch a late flight out of town but was worried because his flight "had a connection at the Empire State Building." The joke, an obvious reference to 9/11, was poorly received by the audience, who showered Gottfried with boos and cries of "too soon." In response, Gottfried told an obscenity-filled rendition of the Aristocrats joke. According to the film, the telling was as much a cathartic experience for the audience as it was a shocking one, regardless of whether viewers were familiar with the joke or not. During his performance, Gottfried told the audience "They might have to clean this up for TV."