A Man Walks Into A Talent Agency...

I picked up a copy of The Aristocrats DVD last week, and boy, lemme tell ya, that movie still cracked me up. I remember going to see it in the theatre with a few friends, and we were rolling in the aisles. (For those of you who don't know, The Aristocrats is a documentary film made by Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette {One half of the comedy/magic duo of Penn and Teller} which chronicles the history of a particular joke that has become somewhat of a competative taboo among comedians, the punchline being the title of the film). The joke itself has lost most of its comedic potency due to the passage of time, but the telling of the joke is what has evolved since it's inception. The entire purpose of the joke, in its present incarnation, is to serve as a vehicle for raunch, lewdness, vulgarity, obscenity, and unspeakable degradation. This is the film...just how dirty can this joke get? In a word, VERY. In even more words, unbelievably filthy! So after seeing it in theatres, I had been raving about it to friends, co-workers, family, etc., describing it as the funniest thing I'd seen in a long time. Fast forward to last week when the DVD is released, and a buddy of mine decides to take it to work and watch it. Now, I'm fairly close in proximity to his work area, and I was beginning to dread the fact that here I was hyping this movie as one of the funniest I'd seen, and there is not a peep coming from my friend's work area. Nothing. You could hear a pin drop! Someone in the film mentions that the way a person decides to tell the joke says a lot about that person. For example, if they use a lot of urine or feces, don't let them in your house. If they use a lot of incest, don't let them near your kids. Or if they use a lot of beastiality, well, let's just say they shouldn't be trusted (Euphemism Alert!) petting your dog. {Rimshot} Now, if that can be said about the person who tells the joke, what can you conclude about the person who finds it funny?? I pondered THAT very question, as I listened to crickets chirpping louder than my friend was laughing. (Or not laughing, depending on how you chose to look at it!) Should I feel ashamed? Emberassed? Disgusted? I mean, after all, people DID walk out of the theatre at our screening of the film, but why didn't I? Am I evil? Demented? Disturbed? Well, yes, but that's beside the point. The point is, why didn't he seem to think it was as funny as I thought (knew) it was?? And then it hit me! The answer, of course, was simple. He must come from a family with a long history of incest, necrofilia, beastiality, scatology, self-mutilation, and female degradation. In which case, I apologize. I still think it's funny as hell, but I'm sorry for it. See? All is right with the world again! (And the peasants rejoice!) Now, let me tell you about a guy I know. He walked into a talent agency...