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The
Aristocrats
A comedy...of sorts: it's the
dirty joke movie documentary. Watch 100 comedians tell
the same dirty, very dirty, even filthy joke. It's a
joke that has been shared privately by comedians since
Vaudeville. |
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"OBSCENE, DISGUSTING, VULGAR AND
VILE. MIGHT BE THE FUNNIEST MOVIE YOU'LL EVER SEE!" |
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| Year:
2005 |
Rated:
Not Rated |
Runtime:
92 min |
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Cast:
Chris Albrecht, Jason
Alexander, Hank Azaria, Steven Banks, Shelley Berman,
Lewis Black, David Brenner, Mario Cantone, Drew Carey,
George Carlin, Mark Cohen, Billy Connolly, Tim Conway,
Pat Cooper, Wayne Cotter, Andy Dick, Frank DiGiacomo,
Phyllis Diller, Susie Essman, Carrie Fisher, Joe
Franklin, Mike George, Todd Glass, Whoopi Goldberg, Judy
Gold, Eddie Gorodetsky, Gilbert Gottfried, Dana Gould,
Allan Havey, Eric Idle, Dom Irrera, Eddie Izzard,
Richard Jeni, Penn Jillette, Jake Johannsen, 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, Owen Morse, Martin Mull, Kevin
Nealon, Taylor Negron, Rick Overton, Gary Owens, Trey
Parker, Otto Peterson, 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,
Matt Stone, Larry Storch, Rip Taylor, Teller, The
Amazing Johnathan, Dave Thomas, Johnny Thompson, Scott
'Carrot Top' Thompson, Peter Tilden, Bruce Vilanch,
Jonathan Wee, Fred Willard, Robin Williams, Steven
Wright |
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| Directed
by: Paul Provenza |
Creators:
Penn Jillette, Paul Provenza |
Music
by: Gary Stockdale |
| Movie
Studio: Production -
Mighty Cheese Productions,
Distributions -
ThinkFilm Inc. |
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FULL
DETAILS |
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Review |
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Before and After: updates and
previews |
January
2005, Joe De Matteo
What, a documentary that makes me laugh?
HUGE
BILLING: "OBSCENE, DISGUSTING, VULGAR AND
VILE. MIGHT BE THE FUNNIEST MOVIE YOU'LL EVER SEE!"
Penn and Teller are
known for doing something different - well,
everything different - and The Aristocrats
is no exception. Paul Provenza is the man
behind the camera and almost everything else it
seems, he's the Director, Editor, Camera Operator,
and the Executive Producer of this documentary that
has one-hundred comic super stars tell the same
dirty joke.
Here's a new bit of
information for me, since Vaudevillian days
comedians have been whispering the same, as they put
it, very, VERY dirty, filthy joke to each other.
Penn and Paul said that
they informally interviewed 100 great comedians, the
likes of Don Rickles, Jason Alexander, Robin
Williams, Rita Rudner, Chris Rock, Emo, Paul Reiser,
Whoopie and even Joe Fanklin (96 are listed above)
and had them tell this infamous joke. I'll bet
that you'll see some of your favorite comedians in
the list above, with the exception of those who are,
shall we say, not of this ilk. The
Aristocrats is a tribute to the joke and the
comedians that tell it; they are the aristocrats.
The Aristocrats
is not a date film, unless your date loves very,
VERY dirty, filthy jokes and comics. It's a
work of fun and love. Love of the medium of
comedy and the people that perform it. The
Aristocrats is worth seeing, and owning, when it
becomes available.
If you like humor, I mean really like the concept of
humor, and have a thick skin, I mean a very think
skin, The Aristocrats will be the best documentary
you’ve ever seen, and the funniest hour and a half
you’ve ever lived through.
The jokes are fast and furious and piled one atop
another. They take a joke and build it and change it
and retell it, and retell it again.
Most of the funniest comedians alive today, and some
not so funny people all add up to the perfect film.
This is one of those DVDs that I won’t be happy with
unless it requires 6 days to view.
Kevin Pollak does the joke as Christopher Walkin,
and does it extremely well. It may be my favorite
part in the film. I want more of that.
People from the past whose 'today' faces made it
hard for me to connect their names with are Chuck
McCann and Shelley Berman, two very funny men.
McCann tells an especially great version of the
joke. Shelley Berman was my very favorite
comedian, when I was a kid I had everyone of his
albums (vinyl, what else?) and had every word and
intonation memorized. Yes. By heart.
Watching this film
is like being backstage with or sitting at the next
table from all of this comedic talent, while they
are telling stories about, and performing their
versions of this very, very dirty, filthy joke.
“I knew his dog,” Phyllis Diller ends an explanation
with, deadpan…and it is uproarious.
George Carlin gets intellectual about so many
things, but then he kills you with the joke, and
there you are, dead, dead from laughter, because he
educated you first.
HUGE isn’t a HUGE enough word to describe this
comedic masterpiece.
(14
July 2005)
Unfortunately, AMC Theaters, the countries 2nd
largest chain, has announced that it will not
show the film in its theaters, which means it may be
a little hard to find in some areas. Of
course, this has sparked a back and forth regarding
censorship and inappropriateness. However,
this movie-goer would like to point out that unlike
some recent documentaries The Aristocrats
describes itself honestly and should be made
available everywhere. This is not a production
featuring a group of unknowns masquerading as
something other than what it is, not is it a veiled
product or polictial advertisement. The
Aristocrats features most of the best comedy
acts alive today finally letting the public in on
the big joke.
A
spokeswoman for the theater chain stated that the
decision not to show the film was made at the very
top of the AMC Film Group. Are we to believe
that those in control of this great entertainment
company have overnight become prudes? The
Aristocrats boasts no nudity, no killings,
horror or gore, nor rapes or any sex at all.
What is
it with comedy that brings out the censors? It
seems we're not that far along from Lenny Bruce.
Learn more about Vaudeville |
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HugeReviews.com Rating:
Super |
Review
by:
Christian De Matteo |
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Awful, F**king Awful... so take your
woman!
by Christian De Matteo
Super
After a fine dinner of Chinese food (mooshoo for me,
shrimp stir fry for her), we moseyed on over to a
non-AMC theater (The Hawthorne Multiplex in
Hawthorne, NY) and, with full stomachs, watched one
of the most disgusting things I have ever seen.
No, not Cabin Fever, not the upcoming gorefest
Slither, but a DOCUMENTARY about a freakin joke.
And, it truly is absolutely, disgusting. I
mean gag-effect worthy. Within the first ten
minutes all levels of scatological humor (that's
humor about feces, for those of you in Rio Lindo,
California) have been topped, emptied and topped off
again, and then... well, probably eaten. |
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That was a test, if you found what I just
wrote completely inexcusably offensive, well, don't bother
with the film. But, after the first fifteen
minutes, you won't even notice that humor about human
excrement is gross because you'll be knee-deep in violent,
underage, rape and incest, bestiality and who the hell knows
what else. And none of it's shown. This
is the story of one of the most inside jokes ever, the joke
that comedians have been telling each other in the ultimate
top-that-joke contest ever. What can you do to the
joke? Can you be grosser, more absurd, more
outlandish, or just downright nastier? That's the
contest, and after a while, you're not squirming so much as
laughing your ass off at the most shocking and awful and
horrific things you've ever heard, and you'll only be
disappointed in the ones that don't involve interfamily
underage rear-entry. |
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Ebert, said of this
film, that it was more like a boozy salesman that
corners you with a bad, long joke, but, while seeing
his point, I have to disagree. There are three
separate moments in the film where it seems about to
lose steam and peter out, but every time a new
comedian comes on who brings it right back up.
Whether it is the grossfest by Bob Saget, or Gilbert
Godfrey's seminal telling at the Hugh Heffner roast,
or my favorite by the pregnant comedianne, the film
keeps coming back and I hoped it would never end.
And yes, though grossed out through George Carlin's opening
explanation of feces slip and sliding, my girlfriend too
found the film hysterical. Carlin's opening position
in the movie makes it even more worth watch as one of our
most intellectual comedians explains the significance and
importance of the joke. Following his explanation of
the mechanics of it, we totally understand the joke and its
import. The only problem I have with the
movie is the presence of the Onion staff, who I
usually find hysterical, who's astoundingly
ridiculous political ethos completely disembowels
their ability to truly find humor. Lisa
Lamponelli, who was introduced by Jimmy Kimmel at
the Pam Anderson Roast wonderfully as the reason
Italian men beat their wives, saves this particular
aspect by using modern politically correct fears in
the worst possible way to tell her version of the
joke. Is this the best movie ever
made? No. Is this the best comedy ever
made? No, but it damn well may be the best
documentary I've ever seen on comedy, ass over tea
kettle better than Seinfeld's Comedian, and
perfectly paced.
Wait through the credits for Don Knots good friend.
And then go home and take a nice, healthy massive wherever
you see fit. |
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COMMENTARY |
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Jon
HUGE |
This movie is raw, challenging and brilliant. Comedians each going
through their own creative processes as they tackle the same
(filthy) joke, it's like watching verbal jazz. Hilarious, yes, but
the differences - sometimes huge, sometimes subtle - are amazing to
see as each makes it their own. It also gets into ideas about
culture, taboo, and the shifting lines that people draw around
language and ideas. This movie is fearless, funny, and smart enough
to watch more than once and find more with each viewing. And filthy
as the joke gets, it's a breath of fresh air to see people express
their darkext ideas freely and with joy and laughter. GO SEE THIS
MOVIE and screw AMC for banning a fun, harmless, brilliantly
inventive and bold little movie. |
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