It's the singer, not the song.

After a fun and surprisingly exhausting weekend (C's mom has way too much energy -- the woman's a machine), we decided to chill out and watch a few movies last night. The Aristocrats has been on our must-see list for half a year, so we finally bit the bullet and rented it.

There isn't much to review -- it is what it is -- but there were a couple of surprises which made it worthwhile viewing. The Smothers Brothers' deconstructivist non-joke is gently clever and Sarah Silverman's disturbing parallel riff is not only funnier than most other versions in the film, but more shocking too. Hands down the funniest telling is Kevin Pollak's, though. Although we'd smirked and chuckled our way through most other comics' riffing, Pollak's inspired channelling of Christopher Walken had us in stitches, to the point where we had to pause the movie to catch our breath -- then we watched it again. I've always liked Pollak in dramatic features, but I didn't realize he could be so funny (though his brilliant turn as wisecracking Hockney in The Usual Suspects should've tipped me off).

The most interesting versions were almost inevitably told by the women, who modified and mutated the fundamental nature of the joke so as to turn it inside out and make a whole series of other points beside, before and behind the joke.

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Mea culpa: I should have given due props to Ann Spam for the "Say No to Pants" video -- thanks, Ann!