SPOILERS Jokes are a strange notion. Told by young and old alike, nowadays it often seems to be the situation that the more inappropriate the joke, the funnier it is. Perhaps the most extreme joke of all time, and a sort of cult amongst mainstream comedians, this one joke is legendarily sick. Knowing this, director Paul Provenza and fellow editor Emery Emery spent years gathering hours of footage of comedians telling their takes on it. Naming their documentary "The Aristocrats" after the punchline, the two men have created one of the most clever, yet the sickest documentary of all time.
A man walks into a talent agents with a new act. From that point on, the act takes on various forms, but the one guarantee is that you'll be repulsed and amused by the sickness of it.
Perhaps the key thing about "The Aristocrats" is the clever way in which the comedians analyse the joke. Comparing their techniques, the structure of the joke, favourite tellings of it, and their history with it, the multitudes of comedians in this 89 minute documentary are never afraid to use extreme words in their descriptions.
The major positive with "The Aristocrats" is the way in which certain comedians tell the joke. Steven Banks' Billy The Mime is a personal favourite, as is the unique "South Park" animation by Matt Parker and Trey Stone.
At the same time though, for all the hours of footage, Provenza's documentary is still considerably too long. Irrelevant of how good a joke is, when it is repeated constantly, it will always loose it's appeal. This unfortunately happens here as little new is added by particular individuals. Billy Connolly in particular is wasted as his humour is lacking the edge that you associate with him. It's a huge shame, but ultimately in such a certain type of documentary, it's of little surprise.
It's hard to know what else to say about "The Aristocrats" really. Occasionally hilarious, but all too inconsistent, it is an overly long documentary saved by a few wonderful moments. Ideally you would be looking at a thirty minute television special, but it isn't difficult to see why the director went for this length. Worth a watch, but only when you don't mind crude language and are willing to stick with it all the way through.
A man walks into a talent agents with a new act. From that point on, the act takes on various forms, but the one guarantee is that you'll be repulsed and amused by the sickness of it.
Perhaps the key thing about "The Aristocrats" is the clever way in which the comedians analyse the joke. Comparing their techniques, the structure of the joke, favourite tellings of it, and their history with it, the multitudes of comedians in this 89 minute documentary are never afraid to use extreme words in their descriptions.
The major positive with "The Aristocrats" is the way in which certain comedians tell the joke. Steven Banks' Billy The Mime is a personal favourite, as is the unique "South Park" animation by Matt Parker and Trey Stone.
At the same time though, for all the hours of footage, Provenza's documentary is still considerably too long. Irrelevant of how good a joke is, when it is repeated constantly, it will always loose it's appeal. This unfortunately happens here as little new is added by particular individuals. Billy Connolly in particular is wasted as his humour is lacking the edge that you associate with him. It's a huge shame, but ultimately in such a certain type of documentary, it's of little surprise.
It's hard to know what else to say about "The Aristocrats" really. Occasionally hilarious, but all too inconsistent, it is an overly long documentary saved by a few wonderful moments. Ideally you would be looking at a thirty minute television special, but it isn't difficult to see why the director went for this length. Worth a watch, but only when you don't mind crude language and are willing to stick with it all the way through.