This is a documentary about a joke. It is a joke only told by comedians to other comedians. The outline of the joke is that a man goes into an agent's office and says he has a family act. He then either acts out or describes the most obscene acts possible. The stunned agent says, "And what do you call yourselves?" and the man answers, "The Aristocrats." Each comedian describes how he tells the story. Each is different, each tries to get an element of surprise out of their listeners, who are assumed to be other comedians. The joke is told in parts. It is told in reverse order, by men and by women. Each finds a way to make the joke his or her own. The genesis of the documentary was when Gilbert Gottfried performed at the Hugh Hefner roast three weeks after the 9/11 attacks. Everyone was almost afraid to laugh and Gottfried came on second after the first act had bombed. Gottfried told a highly obscene version of the joke that totally broke up the audience. It was never telecast, but changed the whole tone of the evening. Penn Jillette produced the movie as a documentary on the joke every comedian knows but never tells on stage.

This joke has been used by comedians for years as a mental stretching exercise. They would tell the joke to each other as a warm up for their acts. While the setup and punchline remain the same throughout, the middle section, describing the actual family act, is always varied to get the juices going by throwing in the most they can and keeping it funny. There are stories of parties where performers will jam and keep it going for almost an hour.

Sarah Silverman:
Joe Franklin loved The Aristocrats. He was like our rehearsal director when dad and my brother weren't there, and my mother and my nana weren't there. I was on his show... he said it wasn't a taped show, but we, like, did a show... yeah, it was his office. But he had a bed in it, like a couch... that he called "Uncle Joe's Bed for Little People", because a couch is like a bed for little people, y'know... Joe Franklin raped me.