- Udo Kier as Baron Frankenstein - "Flesh for Frankenstein"

That's the joke. It's not particularly funny. Not really at all, however, the essence of this particular joke is not in the punch line, it's in the setup. A setup which exists only to shock the audience with any number of disgusting occurrences. The punch line could be thrown out the window, as, generally, it's not even understood by the audience, nor is there even much to understand. No, my friends, this is a joke which relies solely on the delivery of the most foul occurrences the human mind can think up, upon an unaware audience. That is, if it were ever actually told in front of an audience.

"The Aristocrats" covers this joke, and almost only this joke, for 90 minutes. Nearly every aspect is covered, different approaches, set-ups and pay-offs, and these are told from the perspective of nearly 100 comedians, including Drew Carey, George Carlin, Gilbert Gottfried, and countless other recognizable comedians. It is unimaginably offensive at times, and that is clearly the point. It seems that, in order to be a comedian, you have to be willing to go as far as necessary to make those around you laugh, and seeing people like Bob Saget, and Howie Mandell, uttering what can be viewed as some of the most offensive comedic material many of us have ever seen, is strange to me. I think that's why I liked "The Aristocrats" as much as I did.

I knew very little about the movie going into it, I'd only heard how funny it was. In that regard I was a little let down. I laughed from time to time, sure, but not as often as I had expected. But, in my personal opinion, "The Aristocrats" is enjoyable beyond that level, as it's probably the only film, documentary, or otherwise, that let's the audience in on what I can best describe as "The Art of telling a Joke", albeit a very offensive one. I'm not easily offended, so I didn't have as hard a time watching it, as I'm certain some others would. It's not humour for all tastes, but I think anyone who is not easily offended, should take something away from it.

That pretty much sums it up, as there's not much ground to cover with this film. It really has to be seen, or in this case heard, to be believed. But, unless you're certain your loved ones can handle it, I suggest you keep them away. After watching "The Aristocrats", in its entirety, my ex-girlfriend turned to me and told me she was disgusted with me for even laughing at this filthy nonsense. Not exactly her words, by the way, I just like the way "filthy nonsense" sounds. So beware... "The Aristocrats" is certainly not for everyone, but in my opinion it's worth watching for Kevin Pollak's Christoper Walken impression alone.