The Aristocrats (2005)

One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.

Directors:

Penn Jillette, Paul Provenza

Stars:

George Carlin, Don Rickles, Chris Rock

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Albrecht	...	Self - HBO Chairman / CEO
Jason Alexander	...	Self
Hank Azaria	...	Self
Shelley Berman	...	Self
Steven Banks	...	Billy the Mime (as Billy the Mime)
Lewis Black	...	Self
David Brenner	...	Self
Mario Cantone	...	Self
Drew Carey	...	Self
George Carlin	...	Self
Mark Cohen	...	Self
Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson	...	Self (as Carrot Top)
Billy Connolly	...	Self
Pat Cooper	...	Self
Wayne Cotter	...	Self

Storyline

Comedy veterans and co-creators Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza capitalize on their insider status and invite over 100 of their closest friends--who happen to be some of the biggest names in entertainment, from George Carlin, Whoopi Goldberg and Drew Carey to Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Saget, Paul Reiser and Sarah Silverman--to reminisce, analyze, deconstruct and deliver their own versions of the world's dirtiest joke, an old burlesque too extreme to be performed in public, called "The Aristocrats."

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Plot Keywords:

vaginal juice | clitoris | hand job | crotchless panties | panties | 

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Taglines:

100 Comedians. One Very Dirty Joke.

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Genres:

Documentary | Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to T. Sean Shannon, he got into trouble behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live (1975) for his use of the N-word in the film. Shannon also said that he had been berated by African-Americans when recognized in public.

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Quotes

[first lines]
George Carlin: The joke leads me down one path and then it switches the path on me suddenly and hits me with a hammer. It's just, "Here we go folks."

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Crazy Credits

Everyone listed in the credits under "Very Special Thanks" was interviewed for the film but did not make the final cut.

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Alternate Versions

The South Park segment of the Aristocrats joke, in the film, has a minor edit of the line "and the talent agent just sits there". Whereas the circulated internet version contains the whole line intact is "and the talent just sits there for the longest time".

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Connections

Referenced in Gilbert (2017)

User Reviews

"A Man Walks in to an Agent's office..."

And with that line begins a joke that is profiled from its Vaudvillian roots,through ninety minutes and a myriad of comedians. I once made the mistake of describing this show as bing "a hundred comedians tell the same joke',which got a quizzical"Why would anyone watch that?" reaction. There's much more to this that "comedicans telling a joke".

Comedian Paul Provenza(with the help of Penn Gillette)directs this documentary that examines one joke and how it can be stretched,shrunken,reformed,refitted,debated,taken apart,turned upside-down,twisted,cleaned up,dirtied up and any other way a comic can interpret it. Philosophies and stories around the joke are also factored in,and one who watches this film(assuming one can stick with this doc,any of the wildly profane and wincingly nasty treatments of the joke)learns as much about the teller of the jokes as the joke itself.

With notable turns by such comics as Gilbert Gottfried(who tells the joke both in interview and archival footage),SArah Silverman,Bob Saget,the Smothers Brothers,MArtin Mull,Howie Mandel and George Carlin(among others),this film is a test in one's understanding of not only the telling of a joke,but the mechanics OF telling it and the joke itself. Not much of a movie and barely a documentary,this is a great "curiosity" film that will weed out people who should and shouldn't be watching this. I felt like I learned something out of this,and every so often I got laughs out of it,too. How many films can you say THAT about it?

Details

Official Sites:

Mighty Cheese Productions [United States] Think Film Company

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

The @r!$t* (r@t$

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$243,796, 31 July 2005

Gross USA:

$6,377,461

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$6,809,089

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mighty Cheese Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1