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Monty Python's Life of Brian |
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Rating: 9.5 out of 10 |
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Bottom Line: Rich and sophisticated satire, the boys have grown up! |
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I love Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I do. I think it's the funniest film ever. But even I must admit a few of the jokes were a bit childish. To be honest, I've found myself wondering if Monty Python put a few of the more crude jokes in to appeal to the people that don't understand the others. In Life of Brian, there is none of that. The Python boys have fully matured to absolute zany, silly perfection.
Very religious people will not get this film at all. They'll sit there the entire time with a lost look on their face saying 'What's so funny?' while the rest of us will be on the ground, choked by out own spit as we roar with laughter. I urge all strict religous people to not rent this movie. For the rest of you that liked 'Holy Grail' and the Flying Circus series, you will love this. To put it plainly, this film is just genius. Pure genius.
The film revolves around a man named Brian. He is born in a manger next to baby Jesus, but raised in a very different life. He and his mother are the least common denominator, being treated like crap by the Romans. Brian decides to join a rebel group and proves himself loyal to them, while also finding the love of his life. However, he accidentally is mistaken for the chosen son of God, and soon a swarm of people is after him, as are the Romans who want to crucify him. Along his strange adventures, he meets even stranger people, all played to perfection.
Graham Chapman (may he rest in peace) plays the part of the young man struggling to find out who he is (There's a conflict in the fact that Brian is half Roman) beautifully. John Cleese does his usual deadpan humor playing particularily the role of Reg, the cowardly rebel leader. Eric Idle though steals the show. Read more below about that.
This time there are no Gillimations stuck throughout the film, but there is one truly Gilliamistic scene when Brian is falling from a tall tower, a spaceship (flown by two clay-mation aliens) flys down and catches him. It's odd and weird, but that's Monty Python for you. |
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| Best Actor: Eric Idle. Contrary to what you may think, I'm not just prejudice to Eric because he's the cutest man to walk the face of the Earth, it's because he does a fantastic job in this film. From his cheeky character ('Oh, you mean I'd have to give up being crucified in the afternoon? That would blow wouldn't it!') to "Loretta" the man who wants to be a woman so he can have babies ("You can't have babies, you haven't got a womb. Where would you keep the fetus? In a box?") he makes us feel for his characters and lets us connect with them. However, the thing that really won me over was his song bit at the very end where they're being crucified, and in a perfect example of comic harmony, he breaks into song with the cheerful Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (which he wrote and composed by the way) Ah, Eric, you never fail us. |
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Eric performing his song. Mouse over for Eric playing 'Loretta' |
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Best Scene: The Always Look on the Bright Side of Life scene was my favorite, but one of the most clever was when Brian was given a grammer lesson by a Roman while he was trying to write 'Romans go home' on the side of a building. He had to write it correctly 100 times. |
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Brian's grammer lesson > |
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Mouse over to see another pic of Brians lesson |
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Pictures |
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< In a stunning scene, Brian duitifully carries his cross. |
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< Brian opens the window to find.... |
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... his loyal followers waiting for him. |
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Eric's cheeky character comforts Brian while they're on their crosses |
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