Does ‘Conclave’ Work Even Better With Comedians in All the Roles?

This year’s Oscar Best Picture race doesn’t include any straight-up comedies, although Anora could be considered a dramedy and The Substance has a number of grotesquely humorous moments. But one of the films singled out by the Academy, despite being a dramatic thriller, was recently re-staged for a live reading by some of the biggest names in comedy.

Nominated for eight Oscars, Conclave tells the story of a Cardinal, played by Ralph Fiennes, who puts together the titular conclave in order to select a new Pope after the current Pope dies. Then there’s a bunch of intrigue and mystery. It’s a good movie, but it’s not funny. Right?

Film Independent recently organized a live reading of the Conclave screenplay in L.A., presented by the original filmmaker, Edward Berger, with narration provided by screenwriter Peter Straughan. And the cast included Ayo Edebiri, Patton Oswalt, Josh Gad and Jason Mantzoukas. 

There were also a few surprise performers, such as The Office’s B.J. Novak and Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein; the latter took on the lead role of Cardinal Lawrence. Edebiri, donning a habit, played Sister Agnes, the part originally filled by Isabella Rossellini, who’s nominated for Best Supporting Actress. 

Understandably, the whole thing had a much different vibe than the movie. Judging from the clips that have surfaced online, the cast played some of the dramatic beats for big laughs. For instance, Edebiri spoke in a more natural cadence that the audience seemed to love. Maybe the Academy could let her share the Oscar with Rossellini?

Although other scenes maintained their dramatic tension:

Even before the script reading, Conclave inspired a wave of online humor with countless memes and social media jokes. The New York Times claimed that the papal thriller was “one of the most memed movies of the year.”

And a not insignificant number of people have suggested that Conclave would have been a great Muppet movie, with Fiennes, as the lone human actor, like Michael Caine in The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Is it possible that the comedian-filled version of Conclave was even better than the original film? Probably not. But it’s hard to say, because no full version of the event has been released. And it will probably never be released; Film Independent’s past live script readings, like their version of Back to the Future starring Ben Schwartz and Quinta Brunson, seemingly wasn’t filmed for mass consumption. 

Maybe next time they can do a reading of Bottoms starring Ralph Fiennes.