John Cleese: Comedy Genius

John Cleese

John Cleese, of all the members of the comedy troupe Monty Python, has had the most successful acting career, and yet he’s only been the star of one movie (A Fish Called Wanda) that can be considered a runaway success here in the United States. Instead of starring in movies, in the last several years he has contented himself with playing small supporting roles. Thanks to his performances as the new Q in the last three James Bond movies and his cameo appearances in the first two Harry Potter movies as Nearly Headless Nick, there are millions of young Americans who can recognize him without realizing they are looking at one of the greatest comic minds of his or any other generation.

Although he began writing and acting on British Television in the early sixties, it was the formation of Monty Python’s Flying Circus in 1969 that set Cleese, along with fellow Pythons Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, on the road to true stardom. The four seasons of the Flying Circus, of which John appeared in the first three, feature some of the funniest and most original sketch comedy ever written. Over thirty years later, they still stand up remarkably well and continue to attract new fans. It was in episode 14 that Cleese performed the classic "Ministry of Silly Walks" skit that remains one of his most iconic creations.

Shortly after the Flying Circus ended, Cleese cemented his position as one of the funniest men in Britain, and insured a place for himself in television history by creating and starring in two seasons of Fawlty Towers, one of the greatest situation comedies every produced on either side of the Atlantic. This also marked the last time he would appear as a regular on a television series until 2002, when he appeared in the short-lived, and oddly titled, American series, Wednesday 9:30 (8:30 Central).

Like his television career, Cleese’s movie career began before he joined Monty Python, but only in very small roles. His first starring role, not counting the sketch movie, And Now for Something Completely Different, was in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), where he played such memorable characters as the Black Knight and the bloodthirsty Sir Lancelot.

Holy Grail was followed by two other Python movies. Years before Mel Gibson was stirring up controversy, the Pythons caused a ruckus with their Biblical epic The Life of Brian (1979). The last Python film, and the most uneven comedically, was 1983’s The Meaning of Life. Some of John’s best moments are as the waiter feeding the enormously overweight Mr. Creosote, and his portrayal of the Grim Reaper.

Although they never worked entirely as a group again, John has appeared in several other Python related projects. He played Robin Hood in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits (1981), Blind Pew in Graham Chapman’s Yellowbeard (1983), Halfdan the Black in Terry Jones’ Erik the Viking (1989), and Shadgrind in Eric Idle’s Splitting Heirs (1993). All good movies, but none matched the sheer originality and brilliance of the Pythons working as a full team.

Despite appearing in several American films; The Great Muppet Caper (1981) and Silverado (1985) among them, John still remained fairly unknown in the United States, except among fans of British comedy. When he went to join US Equity, to appear in The Big Picture, (a small part he took as a favor to director Christopher Guest) the office staff failed to recognize him and cautioned him about starting an acting career so late in his life.

1988’s A Fish Called Wanda remains John’s largest commercial success in the United States. It brought in nearly $65 million in its initial theatrical release and was the highest grossing comedy of its year. Co-star Kevin Kline even took home the Oscar for his performance as psychopath Otto. A follow-up (Fierce Creatures), featuring the same cast, took nine years to get to the screen and failed to match its predecessor’s success.

In the years following Fierce Creatures, Cleese has appeared in over a dozen movies and voiced several cartoon characters. The irony of his career being that more people have seen him in these small parts, which require little of his talents, then ever saw him when he was with Monty Python, and he now earns more for one small movie role than he earned for his entire three seasons on The Flying Circus. His recent appearances have included Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle (2003), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Rat Race (2001), The Out-of-Towners (1999), and of course the Bond and Potter films, and he can be heard as the voice of Princess Fiona's Father in the upcoming Shrek 2.

John Cleese in Fawlty Towers.

Since 1983, the dream of every Python fan has been a reunion. Despite the sad, and untimely death of Graham Chapman in 1989, hope briefly flared up on the 30th anniversary of Python in 1999, when rumors of a new movie or stage show were passed around in the press. Finding it too difficult to arrange their schedules and just a general lack of desire within the group to reunite meant that nothing ever came of the idea. With John being the oldest of the Pythons at 65, the odds of a reunion happening become fainter with each passing year. Although, the recent news of a 20th anniversary theatrical re-release of Life of Brian, as well as the development of a Broadway musical based on The Holy Grail to be called Spamelot, is some consolation.

With or without his fellow Pythons, John Cleese is one of the most talented comedians of all time. Sadly, too often his talents are wasted. All of his best and funniest performances have been in roles that he wrote himself. He is undoubtedly a fine comedy actor with good timing, but his real genius, as with all the Pythons, lies in writing.

If we never get a full-fledged Monty Python movie again, at the very least we can hope that John will put aside the supporting roles that undoubtedly pay his bills, and put his hand to writing one last great comedy film.