The Aristocrats, A Fucking Review!

I finally got to see "The Aristocrats" last night.

As you know I have been talking about this film long before it was ever released and I've also been urging people to go see it if at all possible. It is after all only being shown on about 90 screens nationwide (up from 9 screens a couple of weeks ago).

This film has been making great box office cash, boasting a very respectable #20 ranking last week ("March of the Penguins" was back up to #6 in case you thought I'd forgotten!) and it continues to bring in small but willing audiences.

It is no secret that I had high hopes for the film and there were certain predispositions for me to love this film, based on the genius concept of telling the tale of the dirtiest joke ever written and the look into the making of a good joke. However last night I did know that I would have to be able to view the film objectively in order to decide if I in fact liked it.

I reserved the right to judge the film as I would judge any other documentary. That is to say I would watch the film with the same eyes and critical criteria as any other documentary. Not that I am any sort of legitimate critic, mind you, I just don't want people to think I'm telling you to watch the film just because I'm a comedian and love the concept. In any event I watched this with the same important questions in my head asked whenever I watch a documentary film. I asked,

1. "Does the story need to be told?"
2. "Is there merit to bringing the story to the foreground?"
3. "Does the film succeed in telling the tale properly?"

After watching "The Aristocrats" I can safely and confidently say with complete certainty that the answer to all of these questions is a resounding, "YES!"

As I expected, the film expertly displays the many intricacies and details that go into being funny and telling a joke well. The heart and should of this film lies within the simple phrase uttered by Penn Jillette, "It's the SINGER, not the SONG that matters", or as I put it a while back, "It's the JOURNEY, not the DESTINATION."

You truly see how the varying and different approaches to a simple, yet raunchy joke fit the personalities of the people telling it. If you are at all familiar with any of the 100+ performers giving their take on the joke, adding their insight, & offering a clinical analysis of the mechanics behind the humor you can see exactly why one version makes you laugh and one doesn't. You can learn great things about performance, lyrical interpretation, timing, professionalism, and the psyche of a comedian by watching the long-form examination of the joke known as "The Aristocrats." Were I a college professor teaching theatre, creative writing, speech...I would use this film in my lesson plan.

In this film I saw many aspects of the joke's history and relevance in the world that I'd not yet considered and I've known & told the joke for many years. I saw seasoned comedic performers kill with their own version only to overanalyze and roughly criticize their own performance moments later. I saw amazing reinventions and backwards approaches to the joke that made me envious of the creativity, and possibly most amazing, I saw a mime act out fisting and ass-fucking with great alacrity. You just can't get that from any other film.

Interestingly, the joke is only told in it's entirety a handful of times. There are very tame and clean versions, and versions so utterly filthy you can imagine the movie screen bursting into flames after hearing them. Within each performance and observation is an amazing peek into the madness behind the science of funny.

I say this again, now filled with the knowledge that this truly is a genius and extremely entertaining piece of work, anyone interested in the mechanics of comedy should see this film. Anyone who has ever been curious as to what makes a comedian laugh should see this film. Anyone who would like amazing insight and wisdom about the art of live performance should see this film. Anyone who likes a good dirty joke every now and again should see this film.