Aristocrats_poster It starts tonight, (albeit not yet in Baristaville), and we can’t help but be intrigued by The Aristocrats. We’ve never actually heard the joke that inspired the movie, although after some searching, we’ve gotten the gist of the raunchy riff that hails back to vaudeville days. Going to see stand-up to support my own favorite comic, I’ve been privy to some pretty dirty stuff. Reviewers, who explain that reading the joke isn’t as funny as seeing it performed by hundreds of comedians (duh!), seem to like it. So, we’re asking — will you see it? And have you heard the joke?

Liz George is the publisher of Montclair Local. liz@montclairlocal.news

21 replies on “The Longest Dirty Joke”

  1. There are versions upon versions, Liz. Yes, I’ve heard the joke, once, I recall, in Frank Vincent and Joe Pesce’s old lounge act before they both became actors (remember those days?) and once at one of those “beefsteak dinners” held as an athletic awards function at a Papist h.s. by the hired toastmaster.

  5. Saw it last night at Union Square in Manhattan. We enjoyed it! The theater was packed. Not for the easily offended, though. The basic idea is (and I’m not giving anything away) that it’s a form of joke that’s been around since vaudeville days. There’s a standard line that starts it, and a standard line that ends it, and what happens in the middle is pretty much whatever horrible stuff the comedian can come up with. But the joke is told mostly between comedians because, generally speaking, it was always considered to push the limits of taste too far to be done in public. The movie isn’t a total scat fest, though. There’s quite a few genuinely interesting insights as well – it is a documentary after all. And it turns out there are an amazing number of ways to tell the same joke.

  8. I’ve been reading about this movie all over the Net and I have to say, “No thanks.” Different variations on a really dirty joke? I can hear that at any junior high school cafeteria or college frat party.

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