The Aristocrats

So, do you like comedy? I certainly do, if you can't tell by my lame attempt at it here. But, if you're a student of comedy, you've certainly heard of the joke, The Aristocrats, I won't bother to try to write it out here...and consider yourself lucky there!

This isn't the telling and telling and telling of a joke over and over, so much as it's a look inside the inner workings of the comedy world and what comedians do to entertain each other. The basic outline here is that The Aristocrats is a joke in it's purest form, it's got a standard setup, a standard punchline and the middle, or the set piece is left so open that every comedian makes it his own, while telling the same joke. The movie examines different tellings, there's interviews with too many comedians to mention here about how they tell the joke and what they like to add and why. It's the basic deconstruction of a joke that's been around since vaudeville, and that's a long lasting joke!

Now, this movie isn't for everyone, there's a huge language issue here! Think of a group of guys who have known each other for year and year sitting around having a private conversation, now take that up a notch and you might imagine the kind of language that you'll hear here. But, don't fear, this is all in good fun and, ironically, it's a learning opportunity. This is one of the best movies I've seen in a long long time and it's not even a movie, it's a documentary!!

It's called The Aristocrats and it's well worth your rental money!!! So, until the next time when I'll actually tell the joke, in front of several members of the clergy and my grandmother just to see how good I am at taking a punch, remember that the best movies are bad movies!

In The Year 2889

Remember back in the 60s, when we were all supposed to have robot servants and flying cars and everything would be taken care of for us? Yeah, I know, most of you are too young to remember that, but I'm not, and I'm still waiting for my jet pack!!

Well, after checking out 1967's, In The Year 2889, I'm surprised that things are going as well as they are! It seems that sometime in the near future there will be a full nuclear war and the only people to survive will be a stalwart group of bad actors somewhere in a secluded valley in California...yes, I too weep for the future. In this movie, we see that only a hand full of people have survived and the rest of humanity, those who survived, are mutated into telepathic, cannibalistic monsters. Well, we assume that they're cannibals, even though we never see them eat anyone, this is, after all, a TV movie. The only horror that we even come close to seeing is a small bunny being attacked. Then, the 'horrific' results of the bunny attack looks more like one of the crew forgot to clean up their KFC bones than a slaughtered rabbit!

Even by the standards of 1960s horror, this is way down towards the bottom of the barrel! Paul Peterson stars in this, as the young handsome hero, and the rest of the cast runs the gamut of stereotypes from the young thug, to the loose stripper type to the, ever present, virginal heroine! Nothing is missed here, except maybe a monster! Our survivors walk around with a Geiger counter talking about 'renchons' and warning against walking into the fog, which is apparently supposed to be radioactive. And then when we do get to see the monster, it's just a guy in a suit with a paper mache head! And not even a well made paper mache head either! I've seen scarier paper mache heads in a Mardi gras parade!

The bottom line here is, if you're looking for a scare, look elsewhere, but if you're feeling nostalgic and you've got a Saturday afternoon to waste laying on the couch, then In The Year 2889 might be for you.



I give it 2 slowing burning cigars our of five! So, until next time, when I'll tell the story about the time I got my head stuck in a Mardi Gras paper mache head and ended up on Girls Gone Wild, remember that the best movies are bad movies!

It's Been A Long Time!

Okay, Okay, I know it's been too long since I lasted posted here, but I've been a little busy. I've been watching movies for Rogue Cinema, keep your eye's peeled at RogueCinema.com for reviews of some really good movies (and a couple of bad ones!) plus, I'm working on an interview with Darian Caine, and if you don't know who she is, then you might want to check out DarianCaine.com...hot and talented, not a bad combo.

Plus I've been planning my attendance of Fangoria's Weekend Of Horrors in Chicago in March, so the old Bad Movie Guy's been a little busy, I promise to get some new movies posted soon, I've got a couple of good ones loaded in the old DVD player even as we speak, so I appreciate your patience and I promise to get back on track!!