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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE ARISTOCRATS
The Aristocrats

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The Aristocrats (2005)

80%
75%
66%
N/A
N/A
N/A
80 %
Reviews Counted: 135 Fresh: 108  Rotten:27 Average Rating: 7.2/10
 
Consensus: Can a joke stand up to repeated tellings? Hilarious and revealing of the way comedy works, The Aristocrats demonstrates that it's possible. Can a joke stand up to repeated tellings? Hilarious and revealing of the way comedy works, The Aristocrats demonstrates that it's possible. more
 
Runtime: 90 mins
Synopsis:
"A man walks into a talent agent's office with his family and says, Have I got an act for you! The talent agent replies, So what do you do?" So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke that has been handed down from comedian to comedian for decades but is rarely told on stage. The next part of the joke varies,... [More]
"A man walks into a talent agent's office with his family and says, Have I got an act for you! The talent agent replies, So what do you do?" So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke that has been handed down from comedian to comedian for decades but is rarely told on stage. The next part of the joke varies, allowing for improvisation, and the only requirement in telling the joke is that it be as offensive as possible. Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette spent two years documenting as many versions of this infamous joke as possible, cornering comedians like Drew Carey, Whoopi Goldberg, Susie Essman, and Paul Reiser whenever and wherever possible. The results are surprising, and often take their humor to places that may make sensitive viewers uncomfortable. While comic legends such as Don Rickles, The Smothers Brothers, and Phyllis Diller admit their familiarity with the joke, they shy away from telling their own versions. Some may be surprised, however, to see performers who are normally associated with family-friendly material, including Bob Saget and Jason Alexander, describing scatological and incestuous acts with deadpan glee. Ultimately, though, THE ARISTOCRATS is more than just many versions of the same dirty joke--it is an exploration of the workings of the unrestricted comic mind. [Less]

Genre: Comedies

Starring: Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Shelley Berman, Lewis Black, David Brenner

Director: Penn Jillette, Paul Provenza

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 2, 2006

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case
  • Full Frame - 1.33

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
  • Closed Captioned - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - Paul Provenza, Penn Jilette - Stars
  • Behind the Scenes - Behind the Green Room Door
  • Featurettes - 1. For Johnny Carson
  • 2. Be an Aristocrat
  • Extended Scenes

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:16 AM
Time Out
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Full Review | Comment
01/07/06 03:23 AM
Empire Magazine
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The guilty pleasure to end all guilty pleasures.

Full Review | Comment
09/24/05 03:26 AM
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
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The film has the feel of a long and fascinating chat rather than a formal thesis. But if it feels a little self-congratulatory at times, that's a small price to pay.

Full Review | Comment
09/24/05 03:26 AM
Paul Arendt
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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Frequently amusing documentary with an impressive array of talking heads, though the joke wears thin way before the end of the film.

Full Review | Comment
09/10/05 03:28 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
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Hilariously, uncontrollably funny. And overwhelmingly obscene.

Full Review | Comment
08/07/05 03:27 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
N/R

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Full Review | Comment
08/16/07 03:16 AM
Dave Calhoun
Time Out New York
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Its very about-itself unimportance is what makes it a liberating experience for its own sake.

Full Review | Comment
07/23/07 07:14 AM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
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A tedious dud that sparks once or twice with big laughs

Full Review | Comment
08/19/06 12:06 PM
Jay Antani
Perihelion Journal
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...the brilliant Sarah Silverman transcends the mean-spirited nature of the joke...

Full Review | Comment
08/05/06 08:03 PM
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
05/12/06 03:16 AM
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
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Vile, vulgar and occasionally funny, The Aristocrats is literally a one joke movie%u2026 I was bored...

Full Review | Comment
01/19/06 11:24 PM
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
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... The Aristocrats proves that sometimes you don’t have to be a great filmmaker to make a great documentary.

Full Review | Comment
12/09/05 03:15 AM
Ken Tucker
New York Magazine
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A brilliant solution to the eternal problem of how to discuss the creative process behind comedy without becoming boring.

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 07:33 PM
Bob Westal
Film Threat
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Mesmo que repetitivo ao procurar analisar o significado social da graça da piada e contendo algumas performances terrivelmente medíocres, o filme ganha um fôlego invejável sempre que algum comediante inspirado surge em cena.

| Comment
11/25/05 08:01 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

Laughs of discomfort or of the 'ewwww gross' variety are not really the same as good hearty laughs. You'll need a shower afterwards.

Full Review | Comment
11/22/05 05:24 PM
Nathaniel Rogers
CineScene.com
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It's not just a joke for the john, it's a joke for an entire sewage system.

Full Review | Comment
10/20/05 04:49 PM
Randy Shulman
Metro Weekly (Washington, DC)
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There's an unevenness to the film, and, frankly, I rarely found it funny, but I never found it less than fascinating and invariably entertaining.

Full Review | Comment
09/29/05 09:27 AM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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For those of us who can handle a heaping helping of shock talk, the reward of The Aristocrats lie in our ability to focus a critical spotlight on ourselves.

Full Review | Comment
09/29/05 12:02 AM
Eric Melin
Scene-Stealers.com
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