Reflecting on the50th anniversary of one of the best comedy films in historyin an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, British actor John Cleese had quite a lot to say about the legendary filmMonty Python and the Holy Grail. The star and co-writer of the comedy ensemble film set in the time of King Arthur, witch hunts, and the plague recalled how BBC executives thought their sketch comedy showMonty Python’s Flying Circuswas awful and how the group complemented each other’s strengths, and weaknesses, perfectly. However, Cleese had a fresh and classically humorous answer to the often asked question: If you madeHoly Grailtoday, would you have less comedic freedom?
Released by EMI Films in the U.S. on Aug 14, 2025,Holy Grailhas not suffered the same fate as so many other comediesmade during that time and for good reason. It’s genuinely funny. Being the first original feature for the British comedy troupe comprised of John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin,Holy Grailis a masterclass in comedic narrative creation. The iconic film follows the Knights of the Round Table through several comedic situations that echo the sketch comedy the group had been nailing for most of the early ’70s. When Cleese was asked about how the changes in culture would affect the film if made now, he didn’t go with the tired, “anti-woke” answer, but instead wittily explained the difference between his good old days and now.
“That’s a very good question. You see, the guy who [originally] told us to make 13 programs, I don’t think he would have given a f***. But what’s so funny now is I can say ‘f***.’ If I said ‘f***’ 40 years ago, the traffic stopped. So that you always have this strange thing. There are certain things that mustn’t be said, and many young people say to people of my age, ‘Oh, you may’t say that.’ I want to say, ‘Well, I’ve been speaking English quite fluently for 80 years, and I don’t think someone of your age should be telling me what I could say.'”
John Cleese Diagnoses America’s Comedy Issues Perfectly
Leave it to the comedy legend to understand the comedic zeitgeist better than anyone. While comedic policing has been blown out of proportion bysore and often outdated comedians, there is no doubt that Western culture has less epic, barrier-breaking comedy floating around these days. In the interview, John Cleese explained how and why the joke is often missed or not even made in Western culture nowadays.
“We have these people leaping out and saying, ‘That’s not funny.’ And the problem, a lot of the time, is that they suffer from literal-mindedness. There are literal-minded people here — particularly in the Midwest, where irony can be hard to find — and you realize that these people don’t really get metaphor, and they don’t really get simile, and they don’t really get comic exaggeration. In other words, the meaning that they get from statements is incredibly narrow.”
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Western culture has left absurdity in the past, and Cleese believes everyone is worse off because of it. The comedian mentioned that he is working on compiling archival footage of his career into a television special titledLife of Cleese,which has kept his mind on the saddening comedic disparity between his time and now.
“What I’m doing in the third of those shows is saying how sad it is that there is so little comedy and what a good effect comedy has on people. I go to these comic-cons sometimes. There were people coming up to me in large numbers saying, ‘Thank you for helping me through difficult periods of my life.’ Because when you laugh, you move your center of gravity to a place that can cope a bit better with the problems of life. That is something that nobody seems to realize at the moment.”
While it may be hard to admit, Cleese is right. After all, laughter is the best medicine.
Source:The Hollywood Reporter
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
