Wednesday, August 24, 2005

So these two guys, Penn Jillette and his mucker, go into an film agents office. They tell him that they have this film which contains the filthiest, most convoluted versions of an "insider" joke imaginable. The pitch goes on for an indeterminite lengthe and the agent says, What's it called... (no, not Cumbernauld, daftie) - altogether now - "The Aristocrats". Boom boom.

So does it live up to the buzz? Well, when you see it in a packed cinema of people who would laugh at an egg boiling then hackles are definitley raised. The loud hee-hawing means that you miss some of the follow-up. That said, it definitley has it's moments and Larry Storch and Joe Franklin are in it fer chrissakes!

I want to see it again when it comes out on dvd, so I can properly listen to the craft. My favourite sequences out of the box was Sarah Silverman's take on it and also the special South Park animation. There was no Larry David but Jason Alexander, Susie Essman and Richard Lewis kinda represented that corner. Some of these guys were new to me, like Kevin Pollack's delivery in the style of Christopher Walken and although I'd seen Gilbert Gottfried before, I never knew who he was.

So, the material is pretty gross, disgusting whatever you want to call it and it's all down to the delivery. The infectious stupidity of the lengths it can all be spun out to is the trick. George Carlin explains that shock and surprise are the same thing and thereby hangs the tail. Robin Williams joke about the Rabbi at the end is a flippin' belter. Can I recommend it? Well, I think you folks are twisted enough to get some yuks. I'm pretty sure that you won't come across owt here that you haven't heard in real life. But then again... maybe not in one sitting.

As a footnote, important as this screening was - there was no introduction by anyone representing the festival or the film. The curtains closed before the final credits had finished. I guess they wanted us outta there, huh?