Back Shelf Beauties
by Willie Waffle
|
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)
Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
|