Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin directed by Terry Jones Movie Review

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)   2/52/52/52/52/5


Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

The Full Python

I don't get it? I am sorry all you Monty Python fans who cherish everything that Chapman, Cleese. Gilliam, Idle, Jones and Palin did but I never got what was funny about them or their brand of humour. Now to put this in to context I was born in 1972 and I may have been the wrong generation for their comedy as I don't remember many of my school friends being into Python either other than that one strange kid who always seemed to like the stuff which had been cool a decade earlier. As such whilst I am aware of many Python sketches I have refrained from watching and reviewing their movies until now, until I decided to give "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" another go in the hope that the older I got the more open I may be to the Python sense of humour.

Well I am sorry again because "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" still didn't do it for me and finished watching this series of sketches with a sense of why am I bothering? But before you scream for my blood let me just say there is no doubt that the Python's were creative and the opening sketch which gives us an Insurance firm becoming financial pirates is full of clever ideas. In fairness the entire movie is full of cleverness but it is cleverness which failed to make me laugh as it does others.

Now in a way, and I know this will annoy people, "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" kind of reminds me of the more recent Keith Lemon movie as both feel like someone has given the stars a wad of money and freedom to do what ever they liked. Keith Lemon's movie was simply puerile where as "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" seems to be trying to push people's buttons when it comes to what they will tolerate. This goes from surreal sketches, projectile vomiting, mocking of religion and an infamous scene surrounding gluttony all of which do have an element of cleverness about them but I don't see how watching someone eat until they explode is that funny.

What else is there to say well I suppose I had better mention that after the opening life insurance sketch we then basically get a movie split into 7 or 8 sections which take us from the miracle of birth to death. But in truth "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" is little more than a 107 minute sketch show loosely connected by the theme about life.

What this all boils down to is that "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" probably is enjoyable for fans of Monty Python but I just don't get what is so great about it. In fact whilst I can appreciate the cleverness I find "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" more an exercise in trying to push the audience to see what they will accept.


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