Plot: What’s it about?
A comedian usually has a routine, a series of jokes he or she unleashes on their audience, dealing with a wide variety of issues and topics. Some try to bring social issues to the forefront, others deal with everyday topics, and others choose to try to shock and offend. But the dirtiest joke of all time is reserved for a special audience, an audience of other comedians. The joke is told to warm up and prepare for the performance, the start and end are always the same. But the middle is to be as long and unusual as possible, plus as offensive as possible. In The Aristocrats, a group of over one hundred comics are asked to provide their take on this legendary gag, as well as talk about its importance and origins. You’ll hear from Richard Lewis, Sarah Silverman, Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Saget, Penn & Teller, Drew Carey, and countless others.
I’ve seen a lot of movies that try to make one joke stretch to feature length, but none succeed as well as The Aristocrats. Of course, this one joke is told by some of the funniest folks in the world, not to mention in some of the most offensive ways possible. The premise is simple here, but the laughs never stop and to be honest, this is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a while. You take the dirtiest joke ever told, then let some of the sharpest comedic minds in the business give their own spin. I have to admit, I am not usually a fan of standup unless it is live, but I really enjoyed this picture. I think the theater is the best place to see this movie, if just to catch some of the reactions of fellow audience members. Some of the punch is sure to be lost on smaller crowds, so try to see this with as many people as you can. The Aristocrats is a very funny movie, but one time should be good enough, so a rental is your best option.
Video: How does it look?
The Aristocrats is presented in full frame, as intended. This is a low budget production shot on digital film, but the image looks terrific here thanks to a direct from digital transfer. The visuals are clean and show no real flaws, aside from not being as refined as normal film, of course. The colors are bright, flesh tones are natural, and contrast is spot on throughout. In the end, while somewhat limited by the source material, this transfer looks great and should delight fans.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio in this case consists of a lot of folks telling a joke, so you should be able to guess that the soundtrack isn’t that dynamic. But of course, it doesn’t need to be and as such, there is little to complain about in this Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. The dialogue comes across well, with crisp and clean vocals that never become hard to hear or understand. No volume issues either, so you won’t have to fiddle with the remote to make sure you take it all in. There is a little life beyond the vocals however, as the musical soundtrack bounces around and adds some depth to the experience. Sadly, no subtitle options have been included, nor any kind of foreign language track options.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You can listen to Provenza and Jilette on an audio commentary track, a session which proves to be more than worth a listen. I expected the duration to jokes and stories about the comedians, but there is also a lot of time spent on the production itself. The two even poke fun at their failings as filmmakers, so this is a well rounded, worthwhile session. You can also check out about forty-five minutes of additional footage, some of which is hilarious, as well as a special The Aristocrats do The Aristocrats segment, which also provides more than a few laughs. A tribute to Johnny Carson, a reel of the comedians doing other favorites, and winners of an Aristocrats contest round out the extras.
