I never cared much for the Monty Python tv show. It always seemed like a few hilarious moments separated by umpteen minutes of mediocrity. The movies, on the other hand, rise far above their television efforts. Ok, I have not seen And Now For Something Completely Different, but that is supposedly a greatest hits of the tv sketches. The Holy Grail succeeds even when it fails (please don't ask me to explain that), and The Life of Brian is truly brilliant.
The Meaning of Life is a series of sketches, though they are impressively strung together to give the appearance of some cohesion. I just watched it for the second time, though I didn't remember anything about it save the fat guy in the restaurant. I have figured out that there is a five year rule. If I have not watched the movie in the last five years, then odds are that I do not remember the movie very well, and my opinion about it has probably changed. Anyway, this time I was struck by how influential this movie and/or other Python stuff must have been for The Kids in the Hall. Scott Thompson's drag characters were the second coming of Terry Jones. Python's realm of influence also extended to Trey Parker and Matt Stone--i.e. the musical numbers and gross-out jokes.
The Terry Gilliam short film that opened the movie is a precursor to Brazil, though The Crimson Permanent Assurance is lighter fare. As for the "feature," my favorite sketch is the sperm musical number, which is quite bombastic and funny. The rest of the film falls short of this plateau, though several worthwhile moments follow. Just remember that eating is not recommended during the second half of the film. **** out of 5.
