Bob Saget may have died, but his memory lives on as one of the kindest and funniest comedians of his generation. However, kind doesn’t necessarily mean family friendly, and while we’re on the subject, some families can be a little too friendly, as Saget proved druing an epic appearance in the 2005 documentary The Aristocrats.
Directed by Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, the film delved into a classic joke format that dates back to the days of vaudeville. A family walks into a talent agent’s office and performs a wildly inappropriate set, and when the bewildered agent asks them what they call themselves, they reply, ‘The Aristocrats!’ At the joke’s beginning, the name of the act was the punchline, but as time has gone on, the ending has turned into an anticlimax, and comedians have treated the long middle section as an opportunity to crack each other up. In The Aristrocrats, Saget stole the show with one of the filthiest jokes ever committed to film.
Journalist Jenelle Riley interviewed Saget at the time of the film’s release, and according to him, “They said to go as dirty as I could, and I take direction.” Director Provenza objected to this version of events, to which Saget replied, “Come on, you were totally egging me on.”
“Right, Bob,” Provenza said. “Of course, egging a comedian on is saying, ‘Okay, we’re rolling.'”
Saget’s take on the joke didn’t just involve a family orgy and every conceivable bodily fluid. He toyed with his squeaky-clean Full House image, beginning with, “I’m really a family oriented guy.” From there he related the tale of “a mother, a father, and four kids, and it doesn’t matter if they’re boys or girls, they’re going to be used anyway as just nothing more than a hole.”
As the incest escalates, Saget interrupts himself, reminding the audience that he’s someone who does “a lot of PSAs,” and adding a PSA of his own, “Do not fuck your family.” One of the wilder moments came when “they’re all fucking each other, right? All of a sudden the kid can’t take it. Diarrhea starts squirting out of his ass, it’s like a hemorrhaging shit-ass. The kid starts spinning in a circle ’cause he can’t control it, it’s kind of like Curly and the Stooges, ‘Moe, where are the cheese?’ The projecticle shit is just flying out of it, it’s going all around the room. It’s like spin art.” Shortly afterwards he breaks into laughter, wondering, “What the fuck am I doing?”
Saget’s section of the movie begins at around the 44:50 mark of The Aristocrats, and you can watch it here.
Since Saget’s death was announced, tributes have coming pouring in. His Full House costar John Stamos said he felt “broken” and “gutted,” while Pete Davidson recalled when Saget helped him during a period of “rough mental health.”
A favorite memory: I interviewed Bob Saget for THE ARISTOCRATS and he told me he felt goaded into being the filthiest one in the film. I told this to Paul Provenza, who spotted Saget and called him out on it during our interview – they were just hilarious nonstop. pic.twitter.com/aGBgNEWb2k
— Jenelle Riley (@jenelleriley) January 10, 2022
