the aristocrats

I went to see "The Aristocrats" last night with the girlfriend. I wasn't sure it was a good idea to take her, given that it's a documentary about an incredibly obscene joke, but she seemed to laugh as much as I did and was still willing to talk to me afterwards.

I was impressed at how many different ways the same joke could be told and still be funny. As one of the subjects notes, it's the singer, not the song that makes the difference and an impressive array of "singers" has been assembled for the documentary. Scores of comedians, including Robin Williams, jugglers and a mime (!) all contribute their versions.

One disappointment with the film is that one of the more famous tellings of the joke by Gilbert Gottfried, which occurred only a few weeks after the September 11th attacks, is not fully shown and the bits of it that are shown are interspersed with analysis of the event. I had heard so much already about Gottfried's telling of the joke at the Friar's Club Roast of Hugh Hefner that I really wanted to see it uncut. I hope they will include on the inevitable DVD.