As we're sure you readers out there can tell, Bostonist is pretty sarcastic and can laugh at itself or anyone else for that matter. So when we heard about this movie, "The Aristocrats," which focuses on one dirty joke delivered by a slew of different comedians, we thought we should check it out. This hour-and-a-half documentary by Penn Jillette, of the comedy/magic act Penn and Teller, visits with comedians young and old to get their take on the standard joke, "The Aristocrats." Bostonist had never heard the Vaudeville era joke, so our precious little ears (and stomachs) were surprised to hear that the premise of the joke usually involves vomiting, incest, sex, and feces (not exactly in that order according to the many comedians). We admit that some parts were extremely funny (Sarah Silverman and Bob Saget) while other parts were just pretty gross. Bostonist can't recall the last time people walked out during a movie we went to, but it was pretty standard at "The Aristocrats," with some movie-goers leaving five minutes into the film. While the premise of a documentary about one joke and many comedians' variations on it is good, the film would have been better cut down to 45 minutes on HBO. While the New York Times and the Boston Globe both seemed to give it the thumbs up, Bostonist would tell you to save your $10 and rent it on Netflix.
"The Aristocrats" is Pretty Crass
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