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Jason Alexander, Hank Azaria, Shelley Berman, Lewis Black, George Carlin ... see more see more... , Pat Cooper , Phyllis Diller , Joe Franklin , Whoopi Goldberg , Gilbert Gottfried , Allan Havey , Dom Irrera , Sue Kolinsky , Cathy Ladman , Bill Maher , Howie Mandel , Jackie Martling , Chuck McCann , Larry Miller , Kevin Nealon , Taylor Negron , Rick Overton , Gary Owens , The Passing Zone , Emo Philips , Peter Pitofsky , Kevin Pollak , Paul Reiser , Don Rickles , Chris Rock , Rita Rudner , Bob Saget , The Smothers Brothers , Carrie Snow , Larry Storch , Rip Taylor , Raymond Joseph Teller , Bruce Vilanch , Fred Willard , Steven Wright , David Brenner , Billy Connolly , Mario Cantone , Tim Conway , Franco di Giacomo , Carrie Fisher , Eric Idle , Penn Jillette , Richard Lewis , Michael McKean , Martin Mull , Harry Shearer , David Steinberg , Dave Thomas , Robin Williams , Paul Krassner , Mark Cohen , Susie Essman , Richard Jeni , Peter Tilden , Andy Dick , Jake Johannsen , Jay Kogen , Eddie Izzard , Dana Gould , Jonathan Ross , Gregg Rogell , Jon Stewart , Scott 'Carrot Top' Thompson , Eddie Gorodetsky , Drew Carey , Bobby Slayton , Sarah Silverman , Judy Gold , Andy Richter , Johnny Thompson , T. Sean Shannon , Wendy Leibman , Jeffrey Ross , Merrill Markoe , Todd Glass , Lisa Lampanelli , Doug Stanhope , Alan Kirschenbaum , Chris Albrecht , Billy the Mime , Wayne Cotter , The Amazing Jonathan , William Jay Marshall , Eric Mead , The Onion Editorial Staff , Otto & George

"A family walks into a talent agent's office..." So begins "The Aristocrats," a joke kept mostly secret by stand-up comedians for decades. An intentionally "bad" joke, the laughs in The Aristocrats ar... read more read more...en't in the punch-line (one of the only elements that's the same every time), but in the set-up, made unique by each comedian who tells it in an attempt to fashion the world's dirtiest joke. The cat was finally let out of the bag by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, the seasoned funnymen who gathered together a hundred people to tell a hundred different renditions of the bit. Among those presenting their personal take on The Aristocrats in this film of the same name are Jason Alexander, Robin Williams, Gilbert Gottfried, Jon Stewart, Emo Philips, and Chris Rock. The Aristocrats premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

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56% liked it

85,464 ratings

Critics

80% liked it

147 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Paul Provenza

Release Date: July 29, 2005

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DVD Release Date: January 24, 2006

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Stats: 3,021 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (3,021)

  • fb100002359227440
    May 7, 2011
    fb100002359227440
    Really funny. A story about a old joke with black humor.
  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    No Nudity No Violence Unspeakable Obscenity, 100 Comedians but one Very Dirty Joke
  • SirPant
    September 23, 2009
    SirPant
    A million Comedians. One joke. No laughs.
  • jennifxu
    November 6, 2008
    jennifxu
    Bob Saget is naaaasty. I like how this movie balances the different renditions of the joke to speculations on the joke's significance and ulterior meaning. The Aristocrats never gets old.
  • Stinger839
    September 29, 2008
    Stinger839
    not just a funny film, but an effective documentary as well, this film explores aspects of not only comedy and the comedian's life, it holds a mirror up to society and asks "what's your limit?". The DVD extras are essentially extensions to the film; plenty of interviews to make t... read morehis a worthwhile rent or buy.
  • webalina
    January 6, 2008
    webalina
    Glad I saw this. Now I don't have to concern myself with it anymore. A big deal over a dirty joke with unnecessary embellishment. Zzzzzz.
  • MidnightMadwoman
    April 9, 2007
    MidnightMadwoman
    Not for those with weak stomachs and vivid imaginations, but this flick is really really funny.
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 9, 2007
    kiriyamakazou
    Simply bloody outrageous. Have to watch multiple times to catch it all due to too much laughing and missing points. Non-stop comedy literally, and all from ONE joke. It's the way they tell them. If you find people raving about incest, paedophilia, dried semen and rape funny, you ... read moresimply must watch this.
  • binky013
    August 1, 2006
    binky013
    I despise mimes with an evangelically deep and abiding mime-hating passion. In my next lifetime, I could really and truly see myself going door-to-door selling a Watch Tower To Look Out for Mimes magazine. We would only knock on your door after, say, 2:00 in the afterno... read moreon--never ever on a Sunday morning. And we wouldn't even ask you for a quarter; we'd just be doing it for love and because we believe in our cause.

    That being said, I think I have to give the mime segment in this movie the highest laugh marks in this joke-u-mentary. Either the mime, or the ventrilloquist. And post-original Twilight Zone episodes, I gotta add that I'm not really a big ventrilloquist fan either.

    Mostly, I want to say, having seen this once tonight on HBO, that this is definitely worth at least one viewing. And I want to borderline-psychically predict that two viewings may not actually be a good thing. But the first time through, flixsters, this is loaded with funny moments.

    Bill, what say you? (I'm trying my best to encourage my buddy Bill to come out of his lurking shell and lend an opinion to the flixster two-million : ) By the way, flixsters, be forewarned: Bill is kicking, as Julie might say, "butt" in the never-ending quiz. So watch out. 70,000 points may be just around the corner for him. Bill is a very very deep info videophile.
  • mrbungle7821
    May 15, 2006
    mrbungle7821
    [center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img305.imageshack.us/img305/8600/photo077pg.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center]
    [font=Arial][color=darkred][/color][/font]
    [font=Arial][color=darkred]A man walks into a talent agency. He tells the agent he?s got a family act the likes... read more of which no one has ever seen before. The agent tells the man to continue. The man?s wife, children, and pet come into the room and proceed to do the most vile, puerile, horrendously vulgar acts to themselves and each other. The agent is shocked. After a long moment of silence, the agent says, ?What do you call this act?? The man replies, ?The Aristocrats!? [i]Ba-dum-dum[/i].[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]It?s really not a good joke, but what makes it special is that the middle is entirely open for the comic to say whatever they want. Comedians will build and build in their obscenity so that the weak punchline is practically an afterthought. It?s a joke that goes all the way back to the days of vaudeville. Comics tell it to each other after shows like a secret handshake. [i]The Aristocrats[/i], an unrated documentary, gathers 100 comedians and lets them put their own crass spin on a classic dirty joke.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]The movie boasts plenty of well-known names getting down and dirty, like Robin Williams, Chris Rock, Whoopi Goldberg, George Carlin, the South Park creators, Jason Alexander, Eric Idle, Richard Lewis, Andy Dick, Fred Willard, Howie Mandel, Eddie Izzard, and Drew Carey (he insists the punchline should be accompanied by finger-snaps). Few comedians give a full rendition of the joke but the clips are just as potent. Judy Gold involves her unborn baby in the act and Carrie Fisher says her mother likes to sing in a very different kind of shower, but the filthiest mind of all belongs to Bob Saget, who can't make it through without breaking up and saying, ?What am I doing??[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]The Aristocrats[/i] also includes comics from different eras, including Larry Storch, the Smothers Brothers (one of which has never heard the joke before), and even Phyllis Diller, who pretty much just cackles at others. Dana Gould manages to pull together a very funny clean rendition involving the Amish version of the joke. The film opens on Carlin, closes on Gilbert Gottfried, and oh what a journey the film takes.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]The Aristocrats[/i] is very very funny but also a rather incisive look at the nature of comedy. In between dishing the dirt, various comedians rhapsodize about the mechanics of comedy, the freedom in conquering taboos, and the intricacies of delivery (Paul Reiser stresses that any poo-related parts should be saved for the big finish). Penn Jilette says, ?It?s the singer, not the song.? [i]The Aristocrats[/i] displays comedy like it was jazz, each individual playing the same note a different way.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Things get a tad repetitious after awhile and the vulgarity starts to lose its impact once you?ve listened to countless unspeakable acts, mostly involving family members, the animal kingdom, and the loosening of bowels. As an example, my friend Jason Davis attended Mardi Gras in New Orleans one year, and as any viewer of late night TV will attest, the girls have gone wild. The ladies, it seems, will freely show you their bosoms in exchange for cheap plastic beads, and some don?t even want anything in return. Jason said the experience was amazing, at first, but after hours of non-stop frontal nudity, it all got a little tiring after awhile. The rampant nudity lost its effect and Jason started paying more attention to the women who actually kept their clothes on. So too is it with [i]The Aristocrats[/i], in a manner of speaking.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]The film?s unabashed vulgarity will spur guffaws and titters, especially in an ?Oh-my-God-did-he/she-just-say-that?? way. But after so many tellings, things that were funny because they were taboo don?t seem as funny in repetition. It?s at this point that an audience can really appreciate comics that take unconventional routes toward telling the joke. Eric Meade does a card trick, Kevin Pollack does the joke as Christopher Walken, Mario Cantone performs the joke as Liza Minnelli, Sarah Silverman actually puts herself in the joke?s family (for my money, she gives the best performance), Penn and Teller do a magic trick with a soda bottle, there are jugglers, a ventriloquist, and even a mime. [i]The Aristocrats[/i] still has its straightforward dirty pleasures, but it?s much more satisfying when certain comics work outside the box.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]It should be obvious at this point but [i]The Aristocrats[/i] is not going to be a movie for most people. The incredibly course language and graphic accounts of lewd acts will not sit well with most of the American public. This is a movie strictly for people that have a strong stomach and like hearing a dirty joke. For that group, [i]The Aristocrats[/i] will knock you silly with laughter. My three friends whom I saw the film with said they were in pain from laughing so hard. Perhaps that speaks volumes about the company I keep.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred][i]The Aristocrats[/i] is a baudy, filthy, hilarious documentary that becomes more than a bunch of funnymen retelling a dirty joke. This is a film for a very select audience, to say the least, and it does lag at parts when the continual vulgarity loses its impact. [i]The Aristocrats[/i] also seems to be erratically edited; scenes will rapidly jump from different angles for little reason. Every comedian has their own style and every audience member will find something different to strike their funny bone. At the very end, [i]The Aristocrats[/i] invites viewers to submit their own form of the joke for the eventual DVD. I don?t know about you, but I've already got a goldmine of ideas.[/color][/font]

    [font=Arial][color=darkred]Nate's Grade: B[/color][/font]

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Critic Reviews

David Ansen
November 1, 2007
David Ansen, Newsweek

The first feel-good movie made out of fecal matter. Full Review

Ken Tucker
December 9, 2005
Ken Tucker, New York Magazine

... The Aristocrats proves that sometimes you don't have to be a great filmmaker to make a great documentary. Full Review

Roger Moore
September 2, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

What the film really reveals is the role of the comedian in society and the craftsmanship of joke-writing and joke delivery. Full Review

Bill Muller
August 25, 2005
Bill Muller, Arizona Republic

Let me reiterate. This movie is really, really dirty. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
August 25, 2005
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

See it if you aren't too jaded to appreciate a few laughs in these mostly mirthless times. Full Review

David Denby
August 22, 2005
David Denby, New Yorker

Exudes cheerfulness and expansive joy.

James Berardinelli
August 13, 2005
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Like The Joke after which it is named, it's easily dismissed. Full Review

Stephen Hunter
August 12, 2005
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post

For my taste, the joke is a little too scatological for comfort. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
August 12, 2005
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

Under normal circumstances, nothing kills a joke faster than trying to explain it. Yet here, such examination is the film's strong suit and provides much-needed respite, quite frankly, from the exhaus... Full Review

Geoff Pevere
August 12, 2005
Geoff Pevere, Toronto Star

If the Marquis de Sade had set The 120 Days of Sodom in a Catskills club, the result might have been something like The Aristocrats. Full Review

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The Aristocrats Trivia

  • Which film had the tagline, "No nudity. No violence. Unspeakable Obscenity."   Answer »
  • In the film "The Aristocrats," who claimed that she actually performed the Aristocrats with her family, including her Nana?  Answer »
  • Which of the following comedians did not appear in "The Aristocrats"?  Answer »
  • What was the subject of the documentary "The Aristocrats"?  Answer »
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