It's not about the joke. The staggeringly obscene and very funny documentary "The Aristocrats" seems to be about a bunch of comedians telling and re-telling a lame old vaudeville gag that lays claim to being the dirtiest joke ever told. But really, in its heart of darkness, it's about where the audience draws the line between too-funny and too-far, about where people laugh, and then stop laughing and fall silent or emit a faint groan of disgust. "The Aristocrats" will make you laugh, make you squirm, and may make some people walk out in anger. It should make you think about where and why we draw our lines. Read the full review
Comedy veterans Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza capitalize on their insider status and invite more than 100 of the biggest names in entertainment to reminisce, analyze, deconstruct and deliver their own versions of the world's dirtiest joke, an old burlesque routine too extreme to be performed in public, called "The Aristocrats."
Director: Paul Provenza
Starring: Whoopie Goldberg, Robin Williams, Phyllis Diller, Don Rickles, George Carlin, Steven Wright, Jon Stewart, Drew Carey and many, many more.
Run time: 106 minutes
Release date: July 29, 2005
Rating: Not rated, but contains massive amounts of nasty profanity and detailed descriptions of sexual perversity.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A-
"Director Paul Provenza and his production partner, Penn Jillette of Penn and Teller, spent almost five years filming comics riffing on the joke. They edited and structured the finished piece so that it almost always keeps the audience off-balance, which helps increase the shock value."
Austin American-Statesman: 4 of 5 stars
"Once the shock wears off, the laughs still come. ... The endlessly inventive comic minds that populate the film are like jazz musicians riffing on the same material in increasingly free-form ways."
Dayton Daily News: B
"... insightful, profanely funny film."
The Palm Beach Post: B+
"For those who are jaded and disappointed by what they usually encounter in their local multiplex, it is fair to say that comics-turned-filmmakers Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette (of the subversive magic act Penn and Teller) have created a movie unlike any you have ever seen or heard."
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