"Real art, beautiful art, is always a scary act of trust."
 | By Susannah Meadows Senior Staff Editor, Opinion |
When I heard about Bob Saget's death, the first thing I thought of was his absolutely disgusting joke telling in the 2005 documentary "The Aristocrats" — and what a triumph it was (and, also, what a surprising achievement that was for a dirty joke). In the film, Saget appears alongside the greatest comics of his generation, who improvise variations on the same inside comedy joke, trying to outlewd each other in a competition usually held offstage. |
Almost 17 years later, I remembered that Saget was the funniest of the group. He was also the only one whose performance I could recall. It takes a lot to obliterate Robin Williams, Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Carrie Fisher and George Carlin, among so many others. |
I wanted to rewatch Saget's performance. As he started in on his tale of incest and feces, I was shocked by his words all over again. I also kept wondering: What on earth am I watching? |
I put the question to Penn Jillette, who made the film with Paul Provenza and whose laugh is the soundtrack to Saget's appearance in it. In a loving guest essay about his friend, Jillette explains how offensive jokes, in Saget's hands, could be beautiful because to deliver them was an act of trust between him and the audience. |
"What Bob Saget practiced was emotional stage diving," Jillette writes. "He would fall face-first into the audience's arms. If the audience didn't trust him enough to catch him with their laughs, it would be worse than smashing onto a concrete floor." |
Jillette reminds us that this connection is what art is about. "Real art, beautiful art, is always a scary act of trust." |
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