# How funny, to you, are Monty Python? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2012, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104 "2012-03-29T01:05:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/81 "2012-03-30T17:28:39Z")
Really funny. 22-year old male. I would have put genius, but frankly, after loving The Holy Grail and Life of Brian I went on to watch their other movies and Flying Circus. I wasn’t impressed at all. ESPECIALLY with Flying Circus, which for me was actually painful to watch. ---
**Author:** ![what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a5b964/32.png) [@what\_do\_I\_type\_here](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/what_do_I_type_here)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/82 "2012-03-30T17:28:44Z")
I pretended to like _The Holy Grail_ when I was younger to fit in with my peers but, in all honesty, I don’t get it. The show never made me laugh, either. 26, male, USA ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/83 "2012-03-30T17:40:17Z")
I voted “absolute comic geniuses”; I am 51. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/84 "2012-03-30T20:17:34Z")
Other: The stuff I love, I love, other stuff I can take or leave. Generally it breaks down to anything with a plot I find hysterical. When they go way absurd, it kind of wears on me. Edit: I’m 34 ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/85 "2012-03-30T20:29:11Z")
Comic genius. Female, notquitefifty, Irish ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2012, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/86 "2012-03-30T20:50:01Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Voted the second-from-the-top because when their stuff didn’t work, it really really didn’t work, and that was a fair portion of the TV series. Ditto on both accounts. Swedish male, 42. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/87 "2012-03-31T00:33:42Z")
I saw Monty Python when the first episode aired on PBS in the states. Laying on the floor, watching them, I have NEVER laughed out loud so much in my life. I’m 67 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/88 "2012-03-31T00:41:05Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Like [this?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfxWOzUHZE) Jesus fucking Christ. That is terrible. TERRIBLE! ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/89 "2012-03-31T05:15:48Z")
50+. Comic geniuses. They did things that were funnier than I thought possible, in ways I didn’t think could be done. Right up there with SCTV, Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Eddie Murphy. ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/90 "2012-03-31T18:02:01Z")
male, 52, USA Genius, because they truly were. Not always, though-- some stuff was just inane. \* I’d break it down like this:\* 25% Excellent 50% Very Good 20% Good 5% ho-hum ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/91 "2012-03-31T20:48:49Z")
Hit or Miss. I just like the silly Holy Grail Stuff. Benny Hill was far funnier. 46 ---
**Author:** ![Jamicat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c67d28/32.png) [@Jamicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamicat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/92 "2012-03-31T21:04:31Z")
\*addendum: After looking at the XKCD link… I remembered last night at band practice, still considering a band name, one of the names I thought of just happened to be… “The Band That Plays NI” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/93 "2012-03-31T21:04:43Z")
1. American. I voted absolute genius. And I agree with hit or miss. But even when they missed it was ingenious missing. ---
**Author:** ![Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ee7513/32.png) [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kim_o_the_Concrete_Jungle)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/94 "2012-04-01T06:11:02Z")
Australian, 41. I voted for really funny, because the “comic genius” spot is reserved for The Goon Show, with Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/95 "2012-04-01T07:01:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > If their comedy doesn’t seem to age well, it’s because they redefined the genre. Much of it is ordinary today, but extraordinary at the time. But movies such as Holy Grail and Life of Brian are timeless, and far superior to the typical modern comedy. I voted “didn’t age well”. but it may just be that I haven’t aged well. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/96 "2012-04-01T10:13:09Z")
I personally thing many people forget about all the stuff that wasn’t funny. Their best bits are funny, but they put up a lot of stinkers, and the majority is just slightly amusing. I don’t have any reference to know if they didn’t age well, as I’m not old enough to have seen them when they were fresh. So I went with “hit and miss.” I do have no problem calling them comic geniuses, if only for the fact that people still love them. And, I must admit, their best stuff is still unequaled today, though Internet reviewers are slowly encroaching in. ---
**Author:** ![NiceGuyJack](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/niceguyjack/32/3069_2.png) [@NiceGuyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NiceGuyJack)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2012, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/97 "2012-04-01T10:32:42Z")
Genius. 45, male. Scandinavian origin residing in Singapore. ---
**Author:** ![Greekfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c68b51/32.png) [@Greekfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greekfreak)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/98 "2012-09-05T03:46:43Z")
Any respect I had for them was eroded away by the constant references made to their sketches/movies by my high school drama majors. Better than SNL by far, and doesn’t even come close to SCTV. 37, male, Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/99 "2012-09-05T04:05:28Z")
57, born and raised in Minnesota, but have always been an Anglophile. Voted comic geniuses. I first saw Python at the age of 20, but didn’t get many of the jokes until I went and lived in Britain for a time. Some Pythons, I admit, are funnier than others individually, but as a group they’re superb. My daughter (born in Russia, a Canadian immigrant at the age of 10, and a lifelong Anglophile as well) received her indoctrination to Python at my hands when she was 12. Five years later, she can rattle off almost as many bits as I can. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2012, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104/100 "2012-09-05T04:10:06Z")
Mid-50s American male. They are comic geniuses. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-funny-to-you-are-monty-python/617104.md?page=6)