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The Aristocrats

By now, you probably have heard about the world's dirtiest joke and filthiest movie, The Aristocrats. Sure, it will receive a great deal of notoriety for being full of raunchy language (and showing Carrot Top's unfortunately naked bottom), as well as AMC's refusal to show the film in any of its theaters, but The Aristocrats is a wonderful study of comedy and how comedians craft their art. Also, it will make you laugh and feel very ashamed for doing so. Consider it this year's best guilty pleasure.

The Aristocrats features 100 comedians, from legends like Phyllis Diller to modern day stars like Chris Rock to up-and-comers like Dana Gould, discussing an old vaudeville joke told by comedians to other comedians to entertain each other when the audience has left the comedy club. The set up is very simple, and the punchline arguably weak, but the beauty of the joke is in how each comedian can improvise the middle to be as outrageous and hilarious as possible, so we get to watch these masters craft the filthiest, most obscene, imaginative and objectionable acts to shock the audience and tickle our funny bones. It's each comedian's attempt to top the other guy. In that sense, The Aristocrats is not about the joke, but about performance, storytelling, comedy styles and one special connection between all comedians.

Of course, 100 comedians telling the same joke can get a little old over the course of an entire movie, but several performances stand out and keep the movie rolling. Sarah Silverman proves she is one of the funniest and most underrated comedians as she wistfully remembers a faux scenario of how her family was The Aristocrats. Bob Saget, still trying to prove he is not the clean cut wholesome character he played on Full House (and succeeding), tells one of the most perverted and laugh-filled versions of the joke, and even feels a little embarrassed by it (some people might argue he is faking the embarrassment, but I saw Full House, and he's not that good of an actor). The South Park guys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, do the best job of showing how each person can adapt the joke to their style by producing a short film where Cartman tells the joke to Stan, Kyle and Kenny as only Cartman can, and Martin Mull shows us how brilliant he is by telling an alternate version of the joke, which is a breath of fresh air after hearing the more traditional version many times. Along the way, we hear funny stories about how different comedians told the joke, how Chevy Chase possibly hosted an Aristocrats joke-off and more.

Director Paul Provenza, and co-executive producer Penn Jillette (the two made the film together, but Provenza gets the director credit) do a fantastic job keeping the pace up (most of the time), finding an amazing group of comedians to document the origins and diversity of the joke and sharing with the audience what drives comedians. Through this joke and movie, you get to see how each professional works to make anyone laugh.

3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4)

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