Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the greatest comedy in the world and let me tell you why
From literally the very first credit to the last credit, the movie is throwing a joke at you.
And you know what?
I can’t think off a single joke that’s offensive.
Except maybe to mooses.
There’s a few inappropriate jokes here or there (especially when you meet Zoot) and the jokes aren’t going to be for everyone.
But not once do they try to make a joke that’s racist, homophobic, ableist, sexist, etc. The only thing that comes close to offensive are the jokes about an effeminate prince and even then, you’re not necessarily laughing at him so much as you’re laughing at the people’s reactions.
Other than that, almost every single one of the jokes in the movie depend on silliness.
The coconut scene, the Black Knight scene, the Knights Who Say “Ni”, the opening credits, the rabbit, the transitions, the Knights of the Round Table song, the bridge questions, the goddamn ending which is the single greatest ending in cinematic history!
These are just some of the dozens of famous scenes which rely on nothing more than pure and utter silliness!
And it’s wonderful!
There’s a reason that this movie has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes! The jokes are genuinely hilarious! The quotes are memorable! The movie came out forty years ago and people are still quoting it!
And I keep thinking about how so much humor today is derived from pain and offending someone. So many people are complaining whenever their jokes are booed for being offensive. So many shows like Family Guy and some internet celebrities are trying to excuse their horrid behaviors by saying that you can’t have comedy without tragedy.
Yes you can!
A forty-year-old movie that still holds up today proves that!
I mean, anyone who’s been following me for awhile knows that I’ll constantly bring up things like Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, etc. Because I’m a huge fan of nonsensical, silly, looney, zaniness. It produces some of the best, non-offensive, timeless comedy. And Monty Python and the Holy Grail nailed it!
^ SERIOUSLY THIS
Any time someone says that “political correctness” is ruining comedy just remind them that what is widely regarded as one of the funniest films ever made does not have a single racist/transphobic/homophobic “Joke” or rape “Joke” in it
The opening credits of Monty Python and the Holy Grail are funnier than anything the writers of Family Guy or South Park have written in their entire sad, pitiful careers
Okay, but can we also acknowledge that even though the jokes in Holy Grail aren’t offensive, they still manage to humorously reference stuff like sexism and homophobia? That you can actually acknowledge gender in comedy without reinforcing stereotypes?
Like, okay: the bit about the (presumably queer) prince wanting to be rescued from the tower is an active trope subversion. So is Galahad attempting to remain chaste when surrounded by gorgeous, willing - but not sexually naive - women in Castle Anthrax, instead of turning into a sleaze. The witch being trussed up for burning at the stake when she’s clearly done nothing, such that the ridiculousness of the attempt to frame her is itself the joke. The anarcho-syndicalist commune is poking fun at both the divine right of kings and the pedantic nitpicking of far left groups while simultaneously making an actual point.
Monty Python were a bunch of left-wing writers in the 60s, and Holy Grail personifies the best of what they did. Which doesn’t mean they weren’t also products of their time: they were, by their own admission, terrible at writing roles for women, and pretty much every member appears in black-, brown- or yellowface at some point during the series, which, let me tell you, is jarring and horrifying as fuck to see now (as opposed to when I was a kid and didn’t know why it was bad). But as OP says, the reason Holy Grail is still so amazing all these years later is because it doesn’t share those flaws. Python wasn’t just zany - it was actively subversive, even if the creators fucked up in other ways.
Point being, it’s not that topics like gender and class can’t be used as a basis for jokes; it’s that you don’t have to be a dick to make them funny.
(via thingswhatareawesome)
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