Norm Macdonald and others tell a similar sort of joke without the cum and blood and incest. Not sure of the name, but it might be called the Moth Joke. Speaking of that joke, instead of writing “moth” I initially wrote “mother.” So… I don’t know. He also tells a similar sort of joke about prospectors and raping Andy Richter, but actually that joke’s punchline is sort of meant to be the punchline. The other part of the punchline is how long it takes for him to tell the story that leads to the joke. Which, I think, is part of the charm of the Aristocrats joke.
Anyway, like plenty of other people have pointed out, the joke is really about delivery. I’m certain you could tell a more or less clean version of the Aristocrats joke that takes just about as a long, or maybe goes on for longer than usual, and ends up being as shocking in the telling. Those open-in-the-middle jokes are for that. What makes the joke unfunny is usually that people try too hard to make it shocking. And now that it’s more popular, and the internet has desensitized quite a few people, it might be just about impossible to tell a good version of the joke. Then again, maybe not. I think Norm’s version of the moth joke is good precisely for how much time it takes in a venue that simply doesn’t abide that kind of story about nothing. Not to mention the way he delivers it, with the accents and affect and the whole shebang, implies a punchline that just doesn’t deliver.
In addition to delivery, it is also about context.
Part of what made Gottfried’s doing it so successful was the context in which he launched into it, after having just bombed (in a room full of comedians at a roast) with a 9/11 joke just weeks after 9/11.
It’s not precisely that “The Aristocrats!” punchline is an anti-climax, but that the gross acts described contrast so sharply with the act’s classy name. As someone says in the movie, that works less well in a British context as we know full well there is no depravity too squalid for the British upper classes to indulge in.
The shock value of the joke really no longer works today, as most of us are now so used to “edgy” material about incest, bestiality, coprophilia etc to do anything more than shrug when confronted with it in a comedian’s act. To achieve any shock value with an “Aristocrats” style gag today, a comedian would have to break today’s taboos instead - perhaps with a joke full of racist terms, pedophilia approval and so on. But what would the punchline be?
As others have noted, the punchline and even the joke itself are sort of irrelevant. What always mattered was…
If and when a young comedian heard “The Aristocrats,” he knew he’d been fully accepted by his fellow comedians. Hearing that joke from a veteran comic was like learning the secret handshake of an exclusive, secret society.
He knew he had become a veteran, master comedian himself when he was able to tell the joke in his own unique style with his own original, disgusting details.
Incidentally, my very first exposure to the joke (though I didn’t recognize it at the time) came on an the sitcom The Odd Couple. There was one episode where Richard Dawson appeared as himself, hosting a TV variety show. During one segment, we see a family act with a midget leaving the stage, and Dawson claps for them, saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, give it up for the Aristocrats!”
It does- it’s just that the contrast isn’t that funny. The point about delusional people wanting to get into show business is an interesting one, though.
IIRC, SCTV did a hilarious skit called something like “John Houseman Reads the NY Phone Book”. It was at their peak, in the early 80s. True greatness, esp. when Houseman said “Smith,…Barney!”
That joke is, um, intimidating. Some standup comics base their humor on personal foibles like disfunctional relationships and other things that pretty much everyone can relate to. It takes a bit of courage (or low self-esteem) to bare that to a bunch of strangers. But the Aristocrats joke takes it to a whole other level: now you’re revealing to everyone the most obscene things you can think of, showing everyone just how depraved your mind can get. Thinking back on some of the obscene things I’ve thought of over the years, it kind of freaks me out to think about exposing those recesses of my mind to anyone.
Surprisingly (to me, if not to you), the version in the film that made me laugh most was Billy the Mime’s rendition. It’s one thing to hear someone describe a litany of depravities but to watch them act it out is hi-fucking-larious.
Interesting responses, all. I’m willing to give it a watch–it qualifies as “one of those things I’m tired of hearing Penn harp on about on the Sunday School podcast”. Would’ve watched it last night, in fact, but that it wasn’t available on Netflix instant. Will have to get the DVD shipped and give it a shot…
