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Monty Python demonstrates why comedy is at its best when it's smart, says Scott Pilgrim and Shaun of the Dead's Edgar Wright
Edgar Wright says one of the reasons Monty Python has endured is because it encouraged its audience to be smarter
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Comedy can make you laugh, but that doesn’t mean it has to make you dumb. Edgar Wright, the director behind films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and The Running Man, believes comedy doesn’t have to appeal to the lowest common denominator. The director uses the comedy troupe Monty Python as an example, saying they made him smarter while making him laugh.
“I always think you never should talk down to your audience because actually the audience wants to get smarter. And I think about that with Monty Python all the time,” Edgar Wright said during a panel at GalaxyCon Richmond 2026. “There is so many things in that where I’m thinking I don’t really know who this philosopher is, but I enjoy the sketch and by God, I’m going to find out.”
Wright makes a good point. The film Monty Python and the Holy Grail is over 50 years old, but it’s still regarded as one of the most influential comedy films ever made, in large part because it exists within its own world and pointedly refuses to explain that world to its audience, instead relying on them to keep up as everything keeps going. We’ll probably still be talking about the film decades from now, which is something we probably can’t say about a lot of modern comedy films.
Simply put, if you need a lesson in comedy, listen to one of Monty Python’s classic albums or pop in one of their old movies. Not only do they hold up well, but who knows? You might learn something.
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