The Aristocrats
Dir: Paul Provenza
2005
**
One hundred Comedians. One joke. No laughs. Seriously though, Paul Provenza's comedy documentary doesn't amount to the sum of its parts. Basically there is a joke called the Aristocrats, it's a simple joke that can be elaborated on and comedians the world over have competed with each other in retelling the joke the best way they possibly can. When I say best, I mean filthiest. It's a dirty joke, the aim is to make it as outrageous as you possibly can, unfortunately many of today's comedians mistake this with humour. I'm no prude or Mary Whitehouse, but swearing is something I do when frustrated and/or in pain, it's not funny or clever. As inventive as many of the jokes are, they are just an extension of a tired old joke, that I'm not sure was ever really that funny in the first place. A comedians film for comedians. It was lovely to see such a large ensemble, many who are sadly no longer with us, but you can't help but expect more.