History Main / TheAristocrats

-->''A man walks into a talent agency...''

* BewareTheNiceOnes: How many discovered that Bob Sagat ain't exactly a family friendly comedian despite [[FullHouse evidence to]] [[AmericasFunniestHomeVideos the contrary]].

-->''And then the talent agent says, "That's awful. What do you call the act?" Like he wants to know, like the name's the important thing! I don't understand why he would say that. It doesn't matter what it's called! Because no one is gonna book this show! Where did these people find employment?! How did they develop this act?! What made them think this was entertaining?! I mean it's surprising they haven't... that they're not all in jail! I mean... and waiting... waiting for the death penalty! You can put people to death for what goes on in the best versions of this joke! Because you're probably saying, if you have any sense of human decency, "Well, why didn't he stop them the minute he saw the father unzipping his pants?!" And saying, "This is totally wrong! Call the cops! Something horrible's happening! This is a family who are raping their own children, and performing bestiality! Why, oh, why, is he allowing this to happen!" But that's a whole other story. But, anyway, he says, "What is it called?" [[RuleOfFunny because in a joke that's what happens]]. [[SocialServicesDoesNotExist There's no legal system at all in play in a joke]].''

Comedians don't tell jokes. (Well, good ones don't, although StevenWright has his defenders and simply telling jokes is mostly more or less what he does.) The joke proper is seldom fit for the format and atmosphere of stand-up comedy, and jokes are finished as soon as the audience knows the punchline.

2) The act is described in as much detail as the comedian telling the joke prefers. Sometimes the father gives a blow-by-blow description of the act, while other times, if the entire family is involved, the description in question are acted out. The description pretty much always involved [[{{Understatement}} heinous and risque actions]].

1) "A man walks into a talent agency. He says, 'Hey, have I got an act for you!' The agent says, 'Okay, tell me about the act.'"

2) The description of the act, involving [[{{Understatement}} heinous and risque actions]].

3) "The agent says, 'Wow. What do you call an act like that?' And the man says, 'The Aristocrats!'"

The joke is still not particularly funny as a joke (it's basically a ShaggyDogStory); it's the middle section which makes it, largely in an all-out attempt to subvert DudeNotFunny. There's also theory that calling a horrifying act like that "The Aristocrats" is funny, [[DontExplainTheJoke but only if you take the time to think out the implications]]. One variation even ended with "The Sophisticates" to make this point clearer. [[GeorgeHarrison George Harrison]] is said to have told a version which ended with a funnier and more arguably sensically satirical punchline: "Royalty".

* CrossesTheLineTwice[[invoked]]

-->And then the talent agent says, "That's awful. What do you call the act?" Like he wants to know, like the name's the important thing! I don't understand why he would say that. It doesn't matter what it's called! Because no one is gonna book this show! Where did these people find employment! How did they develop this act! What made them think this was entertaining! I mean it's surprising they haven't... that they're not all in jail! I mean... and waiting... waiting for the death penalty! You can put people to death for what goes on in the best versions of this joke! Because you're probably saying, if you have any sense of human decency, "Well, why didn't he stop them the minute he saw the father unzipping his pants!" And saying, "This is totally wrong! Call the cops! Something horrible's happening! This is a family who are raping their own children, and performing bestiality! Why, oh, why, is he allowing this to happen!" But that's a whole other story. But, anyway, he says, "What is it called?" [[RuleOfFunny because in a joke that's what happens]]. [[SocialServicesDoesNotExist There's no legal system at all in play in a joke]].

* CrossesTheLineTwice

ThatGuyWithTheGlasses did a version, [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/sketches/189-the-most-raunchy-aristocrates-joke-ever check it out]].

ThatGuyWithTheGlasses did a version, competing with Bob Saget's as the best one so far. If you feel you have the stomach, [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/sketches/189-the-most-raunchy-aristocrates-joke-ever check it out]].

ThatGuyWithTheGlasses did a version, competing with Bob Saget's as the best one so far. If you feel you have the stomach, [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thatguywiththeglasses/sketches/189-the-most-raunchy-aristocrates-joke-ever check it out.]]

'''Tropes:'''
* AristocratsAreEvil (Hence the punchline)

* [[CrossesTheLineTwice Crosses The Line]] [[strike:[[CrossesTheLineTwice Twice]]]] [[CrossesTheLineTwice About A Hundred Times]] In fact, if you're not doing this once per sentence in step two, you're probably doing it wrong.

* DudeNotFunny
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel (Can be this with the particularly disgusting examples.)

* RapeAsComedy (in most retellings)

* {{Squick}}

'''Tropes specific to the movie:'''
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking (In the version GilbertGottfried tells, he frequently recapped all the bodily fluids the family was covered in - including blood, urine, and feces - and only made a big deal out of the sweat.
* BetterThanItSounds (One hundred comedians tell the same joke, and admit it isn't funny?)
* BewareTheNiceOnes (How many discovered that Bob Sagat ain't exactly a family friendly comedian despite [[FullHouse evidence to]] [[AmericasFunniestHomeVideos the contrary]].)
* BreadEggsMilkSquick (SarahSilverman's version, which places herself in the position of having ''been'' an Aristocrat, and eventually concluding that Joe Franklin raped her)
* CrossesTheLineTwice (Bob Sagat's version of the joke. It's... ''Epic''.)
* DeconstructedTrope (Sarah Silverman's version is arguably a deconstruction of the joke itself, because ''being'' one of the people involved in performing the act would probably not be an enjoyable experience (unless one is a NightmareFetishist))
* {{Inversion}} (The aforementioned "PrecisionFStrike" version of the joke is an inversion; the act is sedate, the title is profane).
* PrecisionFStrike (One version describes an extremely bland, sedate act... and then the interviewer asks "What do you call that act?" [[spoiler:"The Cocksucking Motherfuckers."]])
* SelfDeprecation (Carrot Top - "It's not a fucking prop act, is it?")
* TooSoon (Gilbert Gottfried at the Friar's Club Roast Of Hugh Hefner - after his first joke about being delayed due to "having a connecting flight at the Empire State Building", barely weeks after 9/11), leading to...
** CrowningMomentOfAwesome (well, if you can't tell 9/11 jokes, tell The Aristocrats.)
*** As I recall, ''SouthPark'' did both simultaneously.
** I believe it was Jeffrey Ross in the movie who described it as a CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming of all things. He explained that at that time, a lot of comedians still felt guilty about trying to make jokes about anything with the aftereffects of 9/11 looming. After someone in the audience actually yelled "TooSoon" to his 9/11 joke, Gilbert stood for a moment and then suddenly launched into an incredibly vulgar rendition of TheAristocrats and left everyone gasping for breath from laughing so hard. Jeffrey said it was the cathartic moment that the entire comedy community needed to feel like it was ok to move on.
--->'''Gilbert:''' [[MadnessMantra ...and they're all fucking and sucking!]]
* OrphanedPunchline meets MemeticMutation: Since the movie took it from an injoke among comedians to something better known, "... the Aristocrats!" has gained status similar to "that's what she said" in some circles.
* TheVoiceless ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-Oz1s3nb38 One version]] is told by a mime... ''in pantomime''. The best part is he ''does it in public''. He's also wearing a lapel microphone for some bizarre reason.)
** [[FridgeBrilliance Exactly.]]

* [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses And how do you want to get Richard Attenborough?]]

* [[ThatGuyWithTheGlasses And how do you want to get]] RichardAttenborough?

* And is there a matinee show?

* BreadEggsMilkSquick (Sarah Silverman's version, which places herself in the position of having ''been'' an Aristocrat, and eventually concluding that Joe Franklin raped her)

In 2005, [[PennAndTellerBullshit Penn Jillette]] and [[WaitWaitDontTellMe Paul Provenza]] made a movie of ''The Aristocrats'', a documentary featuring about a hundred comedians telling the joke, or their own stories about the history of the joke. While the joke isn't funny - as they note a lot during the film - the comedians talking about the joke are frequently hilarious.

The joke is still not particularly funny as a joke (it's basically a ShaggyDogStory); it's the middle section which makes it, largely in an all-out attempt to subvert DudeNotFunny. There's also theory that calling a horrifying act like that "The Aristocrats" is funny, [[DontExplainTheJoke but only if you take the time to think out the implications]]. One variation even ended with "The Sophisticates" to make this point clearer. George Harrison is said to have told a version which ended with a funnier and more arguably sensically satirical punchline: "Royalty".

* DeconstructedTrope (Sarah Silverman's version is arguably a deconstruction of the joke itself, because ''being'' one of the people involved in performing the act would probably not be an enjoyable experience (unless one is a NightmareFetishist))
* {{Inversion}} (The aforementioned "PrecisionFStrike" version of the joke is an inversion; the act is sedate, the title is profane).

* And is there a matinee show?
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2) The description of the act, involving heinous and risque actions.

* BetterThanItSounds (One hundred comedians tell the same joke, and admit it isn't funny? SoYeah...)