.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

Out of No Nudity No Violence Unspeakable Obscenity. That is the tagline and roadmap for the new star studded comedic documentary The Aristocrats. The premise is simple. Interview over one hundred top name comedians and get their take and version on a joke that is as dirty and vile as the comedian can spew to an audience before delivering a punch-line that isn't half as funny as how you get there.

The joke has a beginning and an end universally known and shared amongst back stage comedians with a middle that can turn even the strongest of stomachs depending on how far the comic wants to stretch the boundaries of good taste.

The joke starts with a guy walking into a talent agency and proclaiming to have a new and most incredible family act. It is from here that the comedians fill in the blank using more four letter words than a Martin Lawrence Live video. And although the variations all vary, constant are acts of sodomy with all members of the family - including the dog - feces, urination, bodily fluids and just about any other act that can only be discussed in the darkest of corners and only with the closest of friends. At the conclusion of its explanation, the talent agent is stunned and asks what they would call an act like that, and the answer comes back "The Aristocrats".

The joke is told over and over again by a list of comedians all of whose names or faces are extremely familiar. George Carlin, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Paul Reiser, Drew Carey and Gilbert Gottfried are among those that deconstruct and/or offer new riffs on the old stand-by. Each one seems to top the other for sheer audacity with a surprising Bob Saget (Full House) offering the most grotesque and ultimately gut rippingly funny version. They all seem to revel in the fact that they can share a back-stage moment with a general audience and director Paul Provenza does a good job of never giving any comedian more than a few minutes of spot light in an effort to keep the pace moving and the appearance list growing.

But as funny as the joke can be in some versions and as interesting as it is to watch as different comics with varying styles all try to put their own spin on the privately shared laugher, the movie fails to keep our interest in what is only an 86 minute attempt. There are two reasons for its failure. First is how it was presented. Head shots stories high of George Carlin and Billy Connelly made any viewing not in the back few rows of the theatre sickening. It was like watching 24 hours of The Blair Witch Project in IMAX. Phyliss Diller and Eddie Izzard are not the most cuddly cute people in the world and seeing their faces being thrown at me larger than the back of my house reminded me of the Seinfeld episode where the Judge Reinhold character got right up into your face when talking to you.

The second issue I took with the film was that it was Groundhog Day with the groundhog (or Bill Murray, I might add). Just as soon as someone would tell the joke and the audience would either laugh in acceptance or squirm with disapproval, the next comic comes on and tells the exact same thing. Now I realize that this is what the movie was suppose to project, but head was spinning like after watching an episode of Lost where I saw some interesting views, but ultimately, I am no closer to getting ahead in the journey the director might be trying to achieve.

There is over 80 F-words and 200 sexual references that make this anything from a Disney family film. It is an acquired taste that you are either going to accept or you are going to revile. If your Saturday night schedule is clear enough and daring enough to sit through a film that includes talk of having sex with dead fetuses while eating a bucket of vomit, then maybe this movie is for you. Just make sure you have not eaten a big meal and are in the mood before buying a ticket.