The Aristocrats

A name you'll recognize on the roster of the crew is Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame), so we'll go ahead and blame him for bringing this movie to the big screen. And what we're given is indeed, the joke. But we are also given an insight to the private world of the comedians who tell it - young, old, male, female, black, white - whatever - they have all told this joke in their own way and it's this oral tradition that brings together the community of stage dwelling odd balls.

And it's not even a very funny joke. So don't get your hopes up.

The joke itself has its roots in an off color vaudville act, with a punchline that is meant to be more ironic than funny. Essentially the joke (without giving too much away) goes like this... A man is auditioning a family act to a talent agent. The man, with his family, commit several lewd and shocking acts with the usual 'big finish', The agent, horrified, exclaims "That's awful - what would you call an act like that?" To which the man replies "The Aristocratshe tradition of telling this joke, among comedians, has evolved to the point of absurdity. In an effort to out-do each other, each re-telling becomes more lewd, more vile, and more offensive. Absolutely nothing is taboo when it comes to the nightclub act that this family has cooked up. There are rules however. The overall concept must remain intact, and the punch line must be there. Everything else is open to the comedians own imagination as they struggle to keep the joke as outlandish and perverse as possible, while giving it their own twist.

Fantastic performaces and candid moments abound with some of the industries big name performers - Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Billy Connolly, Phyllis Diller, Whoppie Goldberg, Emo Phillips, George Carlin, Gilbert Gottfried - and about seventy others - including a brilliant retelling of the joke by "Billy the Mime" on a busy city street. We even get a glimpse at the writing staff of The Onion, as they attempt to define what could possibly make the joke even more offensive.

I don't know how they managed it, but the filmmakers were able to turn what would seem to be a horrible premise into an entertaining and hilarious look at this bit of culture that, by any respectable standards, should not be funny. I caught the showing of The Aristocrats at the Keresotes 12 in Glendale Mall, but I understand that it is also playing in Greenwood at Key Cinemas.