--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a pragmatist's business, comedy…" description: "\"It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good intentions and references to the Pompidou Centre and you end up with boiled sweets and a pant..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg" --- # It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good… ![“It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good intentions and references to the Pompidou Centre and you end up with boiled sweets and a pantomime cow.” quote by Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg) > “It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good intentions and references to the Pompidou Centre and you end up with boiled sweets and a pantomime cow.” [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy often starts with lofty ideas but can devolve into absurdity when execution falters. **In simple terms:** Big ideas can become silly if not handled well. Key Takeaway Keep concepts grounded and clear. Themes comedy execution absurdity Mood playful ironic Type satirical observational When to use this quote - scriptwriting - stage performance - production meetings Key Concepts pragmatism creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure a joke stays true to its original intent? - What checks prevent ideas from becoming nonsensical? A Different Perspective If the premise is too vague, humor may miss its mark. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Centre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/centre/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comedy Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy-start-774166/) [Cows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cows/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Good intentions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-intentions/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Pantomime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pantomime/) [Pantomime Cow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pantomime-cow-3709695/) [Pompidou Centre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pompidou-centre-5202543/) [Pragmatist Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatist-business-5202541/) [Pragmatists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pragmatists/) [Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweet/) [Sweets Pantomime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweets-pantomime-5202542/) ## Related quotes > [How do we get a pantomime cow on set. Jeez, the rigours of satire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/how-do-we-get-a-pantomime-cow-on-set-jeez-the-rigours-of-satire/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [I've seen stand up comedy, and after a while you start to notice that a lot of people are doing things that are like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/i-ve-seen-stand-up-comedy-and-after-a-while-you-start-to-notice-that/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [There's got to be structure and great comedy. When you start with that, everything else falls into place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aries-spears/there-s-got-to-be-structure-and-great-comedy-when-you-start-with-that/) [Aries Spears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aries-spears/) > [I think the most important thing about learning comedy is to start from who you are. If you begin the process by imitating what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/i-think-the-most-important-thing-about-learning-comedy-is-to-start/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [There is some humor in Monsieur Lazhar and in all my other films, but this one I'll try to make a real comedy from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/there-is-some-humor-in-monsieur-lazhar-and-in-all-my-other-films-but/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [I keep doing specials because I think there are a lot of people who make movies and TV who are fans of comedy -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-burr/i-keep-doing-specials-because-i-think-there-are-a-lot-of-people-who/) [Bill Burr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-burr/) > [For a pragmatist like me, the important issues concern the words we might deploy to achieve our purposes, rather than the language we actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/for-a-pragmatist-like-me-the-important-issues-concern-the-words-we/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) > [I guess I can call myself a pragmatist with a conservative perspective. It would be hard for me to explain this, but I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-guess-i-can-call-myself-a-pragmatist-with-a-conservative/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [Catholicism is not ritualism; it may in the future be fighting some sort of superstitious and idolatrous exaggeration of ritual. Catholicism is not asceticism;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/catholicism-is-not-ritualism-it-may-in-the-future-be-fighting-some/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Fools ignore complexity. Pragmatists suffer it. Some can avoid it. Geniuses remove it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-perlis/fools-ignore-complexity-pragmatists-suffer-it-some-can-avoid-it/) [Alan Perlis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-perlis/) > [“Visionaries light the way. Pragmatists lead the way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-l-cote/visionaries-light-the-way-pragmatists-lead-the-way/) [Edward L. Cote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-l-cote/) > [Generally speaking, followers will not commit themselves for very long to a leader who is not also a pragmatist. As most of us have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-caroselli/generally-speaking-followers-will-not-commit-themselves-for-very-long/) [Marlene Caroselli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-caroselli/) > [Most women are pragmatists who have allowed extremists on the left and right to manipulate the family issue for their own purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/most-women-are-pragmatists-who-have-allowed-extremists-on-the-left/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [pragmatist that I am, I always meet necessity with enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/pragmatist-that-i-am-i-always-meet-necessity-with-enthusiasm/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) ## More by Mel Smith > [I never met Barbara Cartland. But now that I'm working on her life, I wish I had. I think there was a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/i-never-met-barbara-cartland-but-now-that-i-m-working-on-her-life-i/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [I don't think London has been given enough credit in a lot of the movies that we make here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/i-don-t-think-london-has-been-given-enough-credit-in-a-lot-of-the/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [In this film, we took a helicopter up and showed London as a vista, which is not very often done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/in-this-film-we-took-a-helicopter-up-and-showed-london-as-a-vista/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [I directed before I was even in television; I directed in the theatre for seven years, so that was my trade anyway. But in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/i-directed-before-i-was-even-in-television-i-directed-in-the-theatre/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [The funny thing is, London is an incredibly interesting city. It's very sexy and it's very different, with the Thames winding through it like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/the-funny-thing-is-london-is-an-incredibly-interesting-city-it-s-very/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [How do we get a pantomime cow on set. Jeez, the rigours of satire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/how-do-we-get-a-pantomime-cow-on-set-jeez-the-rigours-of-satire/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) > [But in the UK, I've given up any hope of being considered a director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/but-in-the-uk-i-ve-given-up-any-hope-of-being-considered-a-director/) [Mel Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) [Explore all 8 Mel Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good intentions and references to the Pompidou Centre and you end up with boiled sweets and a pantomime cow.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mel Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-start-off-with-good-intentions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-start-off-with-good-intentions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d87/mel-smith-48805_business_it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-star_1448549.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start off with good intentions and references to the Pompidou Centre…” — Mel Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mel Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a pragmatist's business, comedy. Start...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-start-off-with-good-intentions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-smith/it-s-a-pragmatist-s-business-comedy-start-off-with-good-intentions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```