Don’t confuse ‘Aristocrats’ with the Disney classic

So this guy walks into a talent agent’s office and tells him that

he’s a got a great new act that he’ll want to book. After hearing the

guy describe the vivid details of a family doing unspeakable things

to each other and their pets, the agent asks for the name of the

guy’s act -- and the guy says they’re called “The Aristocrats.”

“The Aristocrats” is a documentary about the world’s filthiest

joke and features 100 different celebrities discussing and telling

the joke.

“The Aristocrats” is not to be confused with the Disney cartoon

classic, “The Aristocats.”

At times, “The Aristocrats” is cute, and it talks about a family

performing an act together, but it’s definitely not a cute,

family-friendly movie. It’s pretty much a sure bet that taking your

children to see this movie can be used against you in court during

your custody hearing for being an unfit parent.

George Carlin is the first comedian in the movie to tell a

complete version of the joke and that’s a nice statement about

freedom of speech. Thirty years ago, Carlin was arrested onstage in

Milwaukee for saying what he called the seven dirty words. Carlin

uses all seven words in his version of the joke, and focuses on a

level of texture and detail that made me cringe, while I laughed

hysterically.

How disgusting is “The Aristocrats?” If the Huntington Beach City

Council screened this movie, most of them would die of heart attacks

before Carrie Fisher -- innocent Princess Leia from “Star Wars” --

tells the version of the joke involving her Hollywood family, or Bob

Saget -- yes, that Bob Saget, Mr. “Full House” and “America’s

Funniest Home Videos” -- tells what is by far the most disgusting

version of the joke. Saget asked who else was going to be in the

movie so that he’d know his competition and know who he had to top.

Topping Sarah Silverman, whose humor is all about crossing every

line she can find, isn’t easy.

The heart of “The Aristocrats” is hearing the performers in the

movie analyze why they tell the joke and how they think the joke

should be told. When Drew Carey accents the punch line by moving his

arms and snapping his fingers, it has a sort of playful innocence

that reminds you why you love that guy. Phyllis Diller talks about

how the joke was a way for comedians to try to shock each other

because many clubs would not allow them to use blue material. When

she hears Gilbert Gottfried’s version, she feigns passing out and

says she’d never heard it told quite that way before.

Executive producer Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) approaches

the joke from a philosophical angle that really hits the mark. This

joke is like a musical standard that is more about the singer than

the song. For example, the song “All of Me” has been recorded

thousands of times by everyone from Billie Holiday to Willie Nelson

to Danny Aiello (no kidding), but each singer who records it makes

the song his or her own.

The way the comedians tell the joke and make it their own, tells

you more about them personally and their own boundaries than anything

else.

In many ways, this is like the way ESPN’s Chris Berman makes up

nicknames for star athletes. It’s a game everyone can play. It’s just

a question of how far you’re willing to push it to shock each other

for a laugh.

This movie is unrated. It easily could have been the first movie

without any nudity or violence to receive an NC-17 rating strictly

because of language. Ironically, the movie’s one exposed breast is

digitally blurred, most likely to protect the audience from the

horror of seeing an uncovered female nipple.

I, for one, have never gotten over the trauma of seeing Janet

Jackson’s exposed breast during the Super Bowl halftime show a year

and a half ago, and I’m relieved that director Paul Provenza

protected me from further moral and psychological damage by blurring

the movie’s only breast.

One thing is for sure -- this really isn’t a movie for kids. I

believe in exposing high school kids to mature subjects as part of

the growing process, but the material in this movie is just too

explicit for anyone under 18. That age may seem like an arbitrary

number, but there’s a big difference in maturity between high school

and college, and that age distinction is an appropriate guideline for

viewing this movie.

The fact that this movie was released NR (not rated) instead of

NC-17 shows what a joke the movie ratings system has become. Theaters

won’t show NC-17 movies because of fear of public backlash, but they

have no objections to showing unrated movies. Thus, releasing a movie

“unrated” has become a popular way around the kiss of death of the

NC-17 rating.

If “Showgirls” hadn’t been one of the world’s worst movies, NC-17

might have had a chance as a legitimate way to designate mature

material. Unfortunately, that movie was a really bad joke and so is

NC-17.

So, if you’re a cynic like me, and you enjoy humor that has no

redeeming moral value whatsoever, “The Aristocrats” is a must see. If

you want a documentary that’s a little more family friendly, take the

kids to the one about the guy in Alaska who befriends the grizzly

bears and then gets mauled and eaten by the big bruins. Hey, the food

chain is just another part of life.

* JIM ERWIN, 40, is a technical writer and computer trainer.

‘Broken Flower’ a

good flick to pick

More than 85% of people’s communication with others is expressed

through speech and body language. The nonverbal cues in movies that

add the intended meaning of words and action are called subtext.

In movies, subtext is expressed through dialogue and action. For

instance, when the live-in lover stands at the door with a packed

suitcase saying she’s leaving for good but continues standing there

on the verge of tears. The truth is she really wants to stay.

Subtext is one technique that reveals the hero’s true character

and personality through their actions. Most movies incorporate

subtext to help the audience connect with the hero. “Broken Flowers,”

however, conceals the subtext of the main character. The independent

film buries the meaning behind the hero’s words and actions, leaving

it up to the audience to interpret and decipher the meaning.

Most women’s attraction for Don Johnston (Bill Murray) is

temporary. As a middle-aged man, Don remains single. And because he

just let his live-in lover move out without saying a word, Don will

remain single.

Don’s reaction to the break-up is the same as his reaction to the

news he has a 19-year-old son who may be knocking on his door soon.

His reaction is to take a nap.

Don’s friend and neighbor, Winston, however perks up when he hears

the news. Winston, a self-styled detective, is eager to know if the

information is true and who the mother is.

Before long, Don is on a road trip, visiting the women he was

dating 20 years ago, knocking on their doors and looking for answers.

“Broken Flowers” presents Don Johnston is a realistic light. Most

action takes place during the down times of life: sleeping, watching

television and driving the car. Most memorable film moments happen

during life’s awkward moments.

The nervous tension one ex-girlfriend exhibits during Don’s visit,

while her husband rushes about being the gracious host, raises new

questions about Don’s past relationship with her. The best awkward

moment, however, is at the first door Don knocks on, one of the few

times he has an immediate reaction to his surroundings.

Don’s ex-lovers are as different as they are similar. Some are

happy to see Don, others are not, and most of them let him know how

they feel. Whether Don is happy to see them or not is difficult to

tell. How Don feels about the prospect of being the father to a

19-year-old is equally difficult to know, beyond sensing the idea is

having an impact on his thoughts.

“Broken Flowers” leaves it up to the audience to interpret Don

Johnston’s character and personality. There seems to be as many

points of view about Don’s thoughts and feelings as the number of

people who see the movie.

Like Winston, the wannabe detective next door, you have to dig

deeper to find answers. There are a lot of clues that do not always

results in answers.

Connoisseurs of art house movies should be happy with the quirky

“Broken Flowers.” Audiences first got a glimpse of Bill Murray’s

performance as a man in mid-life crises in “Lost In Translation” and

he is a fitting choice for the role of Don. Equally great are Jeffrey

Wright as Winston, and Sharon Stone and Jessica Lange as two of the

women from Don’s past.

For people who like to be intrigued by stories instead of just

entertained, “Broken Flowers” is worth investigating.

* PEGGY J. ROGERS, 40, produces commercial videos and

documentaries.