by Rob Dunne

This film (or documentary, to be precise) has mustered up quite a bit of controversy since its limited release this month. The main bone of contention seems to be the relentless onslaught of verbal obscenities which describe (often in graphic detail) acts of violent rape, incest, bestiality and necrophilia. All in jest, mind you.

For me, the most controversial thing about this film is that many critics are calling it the "most hilarious film you will ever see". I disagree. I can think of a lot of funnier films off the top of my head - Sideways, A Fish Called Wanda, This is Spinal Tap, Animal House (just to name a few).

The film is certainly funny. It features some of the world's greatest comedians (as well as many other talented pros from the comedy circuit) waxing lyrical about what has come to be known as the "filthiest joke ever". However, the joke itself is sort of a comedian's inside joke, told backstage when the crowd has left the club. It is the comedian's smoke behind the bike shed.

The beginning of the joke is always the same - "A family walk into a talent agent's office and say they have an act...". The punch-line is always that the family act call themselves "The Aristocrats." The real fun lies in the middle - the description of the so-called "family act." This is the comedian's opportunity to improvise and describe the most horrendous acts of depravity he or she can imagine (I am assuming the only source for this material is the imagination).

I found "The Aristocrats" more interesting than funny. Granted, there are some inspired moments and hilarious takes on the joke (Jeffrey Ross'sidea of Siamese twins joined at the ass giving each other a reach-around is great; Kevin Pollack delivering the joke as Christopher Walken is very funny; the guy who does the joke with a deck of cards is fantastic; and Andy Richter telling the joke to a baby is so wrong....and hilarious). The film is full of brilliant people but the film itself is not brilliant. At the end of the day, the joke is just gratuitous vulgarity. The fact that George Carlin is describing the fluidity of a person's feces does not make it any more clever than Brad the high-school jock doing the same thing.

Part of what makes the film compelling is the fact that the makers managed to get footage of so many comedians (some of whom are huge celebrities) being so damn filthy. Bob Saget (yes, from Full House) is particularly committed to the telling of the joke and he has some very, very warped ideas. Sarah Silverman is disturbingly funny as she describes the "act" in the first person making her own family "The Aristocrats".

There is some depth and insight offered by a few comedians who discuss the importance of the joke in a 1st Amendment context. The joke itself is analyzed for its shock value and the juxtaposition of such vile behavior with an actual aristocrat. It is also intriguing to listen to the likes of George Carlin, Robin Williams, Billy Connolly, Eddie Izzard, Jon Stewart, Richard Lewis and Chris Rock as they each talk about the craft of comedy and what makes something funny.

Perhaps the most entertaining part of the film for me was watching a handful of people walk out of the theater in disgust. The idea that they might have been expecting something aristocratic from the title of the film is poetic irony. Stupid Fu**ing Cun*s.