All hail the Aristocrats

George Carlin during a rendition of the Aristocrats

Over the weekend the not-wife and myself decided to watch some wholesome family entertainment. Then we thought “bugger that” and we watched the Aristocrats instead. We meant to catch it at the cinema but being the idle sorts we are we left it until it was available on DVD, a big mistake on our part.

Apparently the Aristocrats is a joke that is said to have been told between comedians since the days of Vaudeville as a way to show their mettle. Essentially it follows this basic format:

i) A man goes to a talent agent who says he is not interested in family acts. The man persuades the agent to hear what the act is about

ii) The man describes the act in extremely graphic terms. The content of the act varies from telling to telling but generally includes scatology, bestiality, incest and violence

iii) The agent is stunned but asks the man what he calls the act to which he replies: “The Aristocrats”

The film features about a hundred of (mainly American) comedians including George Carlin, Robin Williams, Billy Connolly and Eddie Izzard, discussing, telling and deconstructing the joke to hilarious effect. For us the funniest rendition was by Billy the Mime.

I have no idea whether the joke really is the comedian’s version of a masonic handshake or a joke on the viewer. What I do know is both myself and the not-wife spent an hour and a half laughing like drains.

the Aristocrats (film website)

Aristocrats joke Database (Dead-frog.com)