No Jokes Please, We're Merging

By Scott Smith in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 14, 2005 7:35PM

Since AMC Theaters show movies such as Herbie: Fully Loaded and The Perfect Man, you’d think they’d book just about anything. Yet the same chain that has no concerns over movies featuring anthropomorphized automobiles and daughters pimping out their moms won’t be showing The Aristocrats, a documentary about one of stand-up comedy’s oldest jokes. Why? Because The Aristocrats features more heinous vulgarity than a Chicagoist staff meeting.

In The Aristocrats, 100 comedians are filmed telling their own version of the dirtiest of all dirty jokes, a tradition passed down in comedy clubs for years. We can’t repeat it here but that’s the whole point: using a standard setup and punch line, the person telling the joke makes it their own and every version is a little different.

The joke, and the film, are testaments to the power of words to shock and amuse. But the Chicago Tribune reports that AMC either declined to book the film (AMC’s story) or yanked it from its theaters (the story from the film’s producers) due to a decision by higher-ups over its “limited commercial appeal” due, in part, to language that would make David Mamet blush. Instead, the film will find safe haven at Lowes Theaters locations such as Piper’s Alley and Esquire when it’s released on August 12th.

No problem, right? For now. But next year, AMC plans to merge with Loews to become the 2nd largest theater chain in the country. So what happens the next time AMC/Loews deems a film objectionable? In a city like Chicago, such a film might screen at the Landmark. But what about smaller towns with fewer options? The radio industry is an excellent example of how choice becomes the first victim of media consolidation. Though perhaps this means we will eventually see a marquee that reads Jack Theaters: We Show Whatever We Want.

(And you didn’t hear it from us but if you want to see a version of The Joke, click here to watch a South Park take on it. But we cannot stress enough how NOT SAFE FOR WORK it is. It may not even be safe for your home. You should probably watch it underneath a blanket with a flashlight just in case. And then wash yourself afterwards).