What is the joke around which the movie "The Aristocrats" centers?

Answer 1

[edit] Three parts
This joke almost always has these elements — alternative versions may change this form, but such versions tend to assume that the audience is already familiar with the joke:

The setup: The joke always begins with a "family act" going in to see a talent agent.
Those who meet the agent can include the whole family, or just one family member (usually the father).
The agent asks (sometimes after saying that he's not interested, and a plea from the father) what they do.
If the whole family is present, the act may be performed for the agent, rather than described.
There is also the possibility of a neutral observer telling the tale of seeing the performance to the talent agent.
The act: It is described in as much detail as the teller prefers.
While most tellings follow one of a few basic forms, the description of the act is meant to be an ad lib.
Traditionally, the description is crude, tasteless, and ribald. The goal is to cross the boundaries of propriety. Incest, pedophilia, scatology, bestiality, and murder are common themes.
The punch line: The shocked (or intrigued) agent asks what the act is called, and the proud answer is "The Aristocrats!"
The punchline may be modified in some variants, but generally such variants are told only in a context where the original joke is known.
Because the sense of what an aristocrat is has faded in many countries, the final line may simply be seen as the end of a rather bawdy joke rather than a punchline. In some regions the name of the act is "The Sophisticates" or "The Debonaires".

[edit] An example
This version of the joke is fairly short, and simply demonstrates the form. Actual performances of the joke can last minutes, and rumors cited in the film suggest that Chevy Chase used to hold parties at which the goal was to tell the joke for half an hour (without repeating any of the acts contained in its performance).

A man walks into a talent agent's office, and says, "We're a family act, and we'd like you to represent us."
The agent says, "Sorry, I don't represent family acts. They're a little too old-fashioned."
The man says, "But this is really special."
The agent says, "Okay, well what's the act?"
He replies, "Well, my wife and I come out on stage and she begins to sing the Star Spangled Banner while I take her roughly from behind. After a minute of this, my kids come out and begin to do the same, but my daughter's singing the original To Anacreon in Heaven lyrics while my son performs anal sex on her."
The agent looks uncomfortable, but the man continues, "Just when my daughter hits the highest note in the song, my son and I switch partners. He turns my wife around and gives her a Dirty Sanchez before having her perform oral sex on him. When the song's over and we're both getting close, we all stop and lie down on the stage."
The man smiles fondly as he recalls, "This is the best part: our dog then comes out on the stage, and he's trained to lick each one of us to orgasm in turn. He just goes right down the line, looking as happy as can be! We all get up and take a bow."
He looks at the agent and says, "Well, that's the act. What do you think?"
The agent just sits in silence for a long time. Finally, he manages, "That's a hell of an act. What do you call yourselves?"
"The Aristocrats!"

Answer 2

A family is auditioning for a producer of a variety show. The family can be of any makeup, its up to the comedian. The point is then to riff off that and come up with the most vile, disgusting acts that a family could do (incest, s***eating, torture, etc). Sometimes the joke lasts 40 seconds, sometimes 5 minutes. After the family finishes saying all the things that are in the act, the producer asks them what they call themselves.
"The Aristocrats"

It is an OLD joke comedians use backstage to impress each other, warm up, etc.

Answer 3

Bob Saget Aristocrat Joke

Answer 4

A family goes into a theatrical agent's office and tells him they have an act. They proceed to describe the most lewd and disgusting actions any group of people can do to themselves. The agent is aghast. He asks, "what do you call this act?" The main actor says "the Aristocrats".

The joke is in the details. I won't repeat any of them here.

Answer 5

The South Park version that Cartman tells the other kids is my fave.

My other fave renditions are Kevin Pollack doing his best impersonation of Christopher Walkin telling the joke, the Mime doing the entire joke in sign language, and Gilbert Godfriend's version during Hugh Hefner's roast.

Answer 6

Most of the movie centers around the above, but towards the end they start telling the joke using different formulas. I like Wendy Lieberman's take on it - where the act is squeaky clean, but the name of it is dirty as all get out.

Answer 7

The joke is in the way the story is told. Each comedian will do it differently according to his/her own style.

Also aristocrats are all in bred.

Answer 8

SPOILER ALERT - If you haven't seen the movie, you might not want to hear this joke...

A man walks into a vaudeville booking agent's office looking for work. The agent asks what kind of act the man performs. The man says, "Well, it's a family act. I start juggling baseballs, while at the same time my wife is spinning plates. As I'm juggling, I walk up behind her and unbutton her shirt, letting her boobs pop out. She then bends over and starts grinding her *** into my groin. Then my son comes out and rubs us both down with baby lotion. He takes off my pants, and we start having sex. Then my son starts having sex with my wife (his mom), and I grab a jar of peanut butter. I rub peanut butter all over myself, then Rover comes out and licks it off of me. But since the dog is allergic to peanuts, he usually pukes it up. The sight of the vomit usually makes me sick too, so I add to the mess. Then my wife comes over to tap dance on top of the vomit. I bend her over and do her in the *** until she shits on the floor. Then my son scoops it all up into a glass, and we all take a straw and drink it."
The booking agent stares at the man in udder disgust. He says, "I have to ask - what do you call your act?"
To which the man replies..."The Aristocrats."

The actual joke is not very funny. The humor of the joke comes from the actual telling of the joke. There is an inside joke among professional comedians to see who can tell the raunchiest version of this joke. Legend has it that Chevy Chase once stretched this joke out for over two hours. Also, in the movie, Bob Saget has an extremely raunchy version. Hope I didn't offend.

Answer 9

They perform a series of very sexual acts, involving the entire family. Lewd, gross and pornographic.

Because there is no specific text for it, it can be tailored to the comic's character.

That is why when Bob Saget tells it, it is very funny, while some others tend to fizzle out