Alan Tudyk on his love of Monty Python:
When Idle finally called to tell him he had landed the part in “Spamalot,†Tudyk saved the message on his answering machine for years — until someone erased it.
“I still have the machine, though,†he jokes.
I’m sorry I didn’t get to see him perform in “An Evening Without Monty Python,” though even more sorry that I won’t get the chance to see the surviving original members reunite in New York this Thursday. (Something about a wedding rehearsal for my sister I have to go to that night…)
I will make an effort to watch the Monty Python: Almost the Truth documentary, even if I have to do it online or wait for the DVD. “An Evening Without…” felt a little like one of Eric Idle’s many (maybe too many) attempts to cash in on the show’s continued popularity without adding much of anything new. (And, much as I genuinely enjoyed it, that includes Spamalot.) This new doc at least includes everybody else.
Of the group’s lasting appeal, Michael Palin says:
“A lot of contemporary comedy seems self-conscious,†Mr. Palin said. “It’s almost documentary, like ‘The Office.’ That’s a very funny show, but you’re looking at the human condition under stress. The Pythons made the human condition seem like fun.â€
He added: “I’m proud to be a Python. It’s a badge of silliness, which is quite important. I was the gay lumberjack, I was the Spanish Inquisition, I was one-half of the fish-slapping dance. I look at myself and think that may be the most important thing I’ve ever done.â€