Does the Setup Make the Joke?
Last weekend I was able to go see the documentary film called "The Aristocrats". For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the movie is about the telling and delivery of this very classic joke that has been passed on from generation to generation of comics that has been traced back into the old days of Vaudeville. Supposedly, this joke is one for the inner comics circle and up until now has rarely been told outside of this circle. The premise of the joke is the notion that it's the comic and not the material that makes something funny. The Aristocrats joke has been compared to that of a piece of jazz music where the performer can take the standard material and improvise an elaborate setup to give it their own personal touch...and in this movie it happens with mixed results. After seeing the movie, my opinion was that some of the comics such as Bob Saget, Sarah Silverman, and George Carlin did very funny renditions of the joke, while those like Carrot Top, Stephen Wright and yes Eddie Izzard (sorry Whackly) were the worst excuses for humor I've ever seen.
The premise for the joke is as follows:
A man, his wife and his two kid walk into a talent agent's office and say, "We've got a new act we want to show you...it's a family act"
the talent agent says, "very interesting, tell me about it..."
[at this point the comic goes into his/her own rendition of the most vulgar/foul acts known to man/beast etc...the purpose of this is to be as raunchy/dirty as possible...this part of the setup has been known to last several minutes if not hours...]
the talent agent says, "what's your act called?"
the man says ..."The Aristocrats"
That's the joke. Not much of a punchline, but the humor comes in the buildup. So I'm curious to everyone's take on this joke. DOES the setup make a good joke? If you've seen the movie who do you think did a good job telling it? Do you have your own version of the joke that is just waiting for an audience...feel free to share.
The premise for the joke is as follows:
A man, his wife and his two kid walk into a talent agent's office and say, "We've got a new act we want to show you...it's a family act"
the talent agent says, "very interesting, tell me about it..."
[at this point the comic goes into his/her own rendition of the most vulgar/foul acts known to man/beast etc...the purpose of this is to be as raunchy/dirty as possible...this part of the setup has been known to last several minutes if not hours...]
the talent agent says, "what's your act called?"
the man says ..."The Aristocrats"
That's the joke. Not much of a punchline, but the humor comes in the buildup. So I'm curious to everyone's take on this joke. DOES the setup make a good joke? If you've seen the movie who do you think did a good job telling it? Do you have your own version of the joke that is just waiting for an audience...feel free to share.
posted by EZMezzo at 11:47 AM
2 Comments:
Of course the setup makes the joke. Sometimes the joke IS the complete jokelessness of the content. The absense of the joke is the joke. For Example... Family Guy last sunday. Lois is in prison for stealing. Quagmire is there getting busy with inmates on conjugal visit day. Lois is describing to peter how she realized she was stealing to "fill the big hole in herself with expensive things" and each line she says is more overtly sexual than the one before and after each line Quagmire launches into an uncontrollable "Giggety giggety!" Lois' last line was something along the lines of "And in the end there were never enough expensive things to fill my hole and make me satisfied." after which you expect Quagmire to bust a nut of giggety giggeties... but he doesn't. he stands up straight and says "That one was also sexual!" and a tv announcer voice and walks off. Class
I can wait to see your version of it. I know you've been working up a good version, and doing it with peeps will be friggin hilarious. You gotta see the movie though...even if it's 45 minutes away from your house!
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