The Aristocracy: Ludicrous Upper Classes in Farcical Comedy

Aidan Hilmerson’s seven-minute comedy The Aristocracy makes a farce out of aristocrats by committing as much seriousness to its production as a play put on by twelve year olds at a birthday party. Which is to say that little makes sense and everyone behaves with the exaggerated mannerisms dictated by childishness. It can feel delightfully unhinged. 

The plot is simple: the patriarch (Michael Lomenick) wants to get rid of the no-name (ex)girlfriend (Sarah Seidler) of the heir (Daniel Cassilagio). The down on his luck black sheep of the family (Garrett Sweere, amusingly costumed in dark shades) is hired to do it for the price of $50,000. 

In plots like these, it is expected that the heroine is either nothing like the description or much worse than the description. The hilarity of The Aristocracy is that Seidler’s Audrey is nothing like our expectations and somehow is the sort of person who would not only fit right in with this particular family but is so similar to them, she might pass for a cousin. To make a target of her then, seems to explain why the family is the subject of the film’s mockery. Surely they can’t be this dense? They sure are. And it looks like this unnecessary, silly high-handedness is the reason why this set of aristocrats will meet their decline without the dignity of a gothic goodbye—their absurdity will be showcased in the dazzling midday sun to bright, live music. 

Sweere’s Archibald (not to be called Archie, mind) has a speedrun romance and heartbreak and humiliation plotline ending with him floating in the pool at a masquerade with no mask and a shower of bills that look decidedly less than the promised amount. Black sheeps usually have the audience’s respect. Not this one. The highlight of it all is a low angle, phallic shot of the patriarch with his phallus essentially the focus—certainly more so than his disdainful mouth. 

Unless an AI dreamed it up, The Aristocracy’s spoofy humour seems like it is intentionally low-end, an argument unto itself. Come for the family drama, stay for the utterly hilarious “fisticuffs” between cousins. 

Watch The Aristocracy Short Film Preview