Review of The Aristocrats (2005) by Clint D — 11 May 2010
Being the self-proclaimed "comedy nerd" that I am, the premise of this documentary seemed like a match made in heaven to me.
Boy, was I wrong.
"The Aristocrats" was apparently a joke created by Chevy Chase and Michael O' Donnohue (actor and writer from SNL) in the 1970's. The beginning and punchline of the joke stay the same, but the middle of the joke is free to improvisation by the comedian. The object is to make the middle of the joke as vulgar and obscene as possible. It's also to make the joke long and drawn out (the original goal was a half hour). When I heard that, I thought, "Awesome. I love raunchy humor. Bring it on.".
I must be too high-brow for a lot of my favorites (Robin Williams, Spinal Tap, Lewis Black, etc.) Jokes about swimming in your own shit are not funny to me. Jokes about having sex with little kids are not funny to me. Jokes about incest and rape are not funny to me.
I shut it off at the ten minute mark. And I can count the number of times I've done that in my life on two hands. I liked the history of the joke, the passing it down, the sharing of it. I like the creative differences behind it. I just don't like the joke itself.
This review of The Aristocrats (2005) was written by Clint D on 11 May 2010.
The Aristocrats has generally received positive reviews.
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