Movie Review: "The Aristocrats" (2005)

This documentary just came out on DVD and I watched it the first chance I got since I missed it in the theatres. For those who don't know what it's about, here's the scoop: An old joke from the 1920s/1930s that was used by comedians to either a) warm up before going on stage or b) outgross each other is dissected, told, dissected again, and retold. The punchline of the joke is "The Aristocrats", hence, the title. However, the humour is not in the punchline, but rather, in the buildup. The goal is to be as sickening and offensive in telling the joke, and damn, some of the comedians on this DVD certainly do a good job of that.

One of the depraved minds behind this whole project is the irreverent Penn Jillette. If you know anything about Jillette, he just doesn't care about the boundaries of taste and appropriateness, and that's basically the Aristocrats in a nutshell.

Did I like it? Yes, in that "this looks like a traffic accident but I just can't turn away" or "this is so shocking that I can't believe I'm actually laughing" sort of way. I first saw a clip from the movie about 6 months ago and at first I thought it was absolutely appalling, but after watching it again and again, it grew on me. The full movie has the same effect ... after the first half hour, you sorta develop a taste for it. I guess it can best be compared to an acquired taste, much like coffee, cigarettes, and receiving anal sex, so I'm told.

And if you can't handle that analogy, it's probably best that you don't see this movie.

Overal rating: 6.5/10