I’m just curious as to what everyone’s opinion is about them.
I have yet to make a judgment on their TV show, since I’m in the process of watching it, but all of their skits that are frequently praised (Parrot, Nudge, Walks, Fork, etc.) usually live up to the hype. My only complaint is that watching too much Python kind of makes their work get stale.
Their movies also tend to live up to their hype. Monty Python & the Holy Grail is hard to escape from due to the many people who love to quote it. Life of Brian is not really that funny but has an interesting message within it. Meaning of Life seems like a good way to go out, since it was unintentionally their final work; I loved the return to their old format and the epic ending involving Christmas in Heaven.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Monty Python - having all of their movies - as well as the box set of Flying Circus.. and you are right - watching too much of the skits at once they seem to get old very fast.
Its best to watch Monty Python as one would drink a nice fine wine.. savoring it.. not downing the whole thing..
My favorite Python-esque actors would have to be John Cleese and Eric Idle though - I got to meet John Cleese in person for a movie I was an extra on and he was a very kind, friendly guy .. interesting considering all the rumors that were spread about him across the media/internet portrayed him as being a ■■■■■.
He was quite the opposite.. and we shared a good laugh together over Fawlty Towers..
It’s the people who quote Holy Grail that killed that movie for me. In my hometown, it was usually some highschool Freshman or Sophomore who thinks they’re in on some grand inside joke. I bought the movie on DVd and have to open it. Maybe someday it’ll stop being a meme and then I can enjoy it again.
That being said, I used to watch the Flying circus every day on comedy Central years and years and years ago before I went to bed and loved it. While I thought at the time I was just too young to understand the humor, I later learned that most of the humor was in the nonsense. I adore Life of Brian and Meaning of Life is my favorite of their movies. The classroom scenes and the Catholics vs. Protestant skits were my favorite parts of that whole movie.
So, I am not a huge religious fanatic, but I did go see the Passion of the Christ, and I enjoyed it. I’m not going to reveal my own religious background, or how the movie related to it. That’s not the point of this post, and I don’t want this thread to de-rail in that way. Instead, I have a bit of humor to go wtih it. As I sat in the movie theatre, watching poor Jesus get flogged and see bits of his flesh fly towards the camera, my only thought was “I really want to watch the Life of Brian right now…”
They’re great. Period…and Life of Brian is hilarious. Come on, singing while being crucified? “Always look on the bright side of life…” Holy Grail is my favorite movie, but I love the old show. I still bust up over the Parrot Sketch…and the lumberjack song? Pure awesomeness.
A lot of the Americas have a problem with Monty Python due to the dry-nonsensical-humour. Cartoon Network integrated a lot of this style of humour into their Adult Swim shows (Sealab 2021 and Harvey Birdman are prime examples).
The brilliance of Monty Python is the hidden intelligence behind, what seems, stupidity. A lot of the ‘big’ British comedies ran through that vein so well - Black Adder is a clear example. The issues come in, much later, with the infiltration of the American sit-coms which caused a disservice influence to the British… ultimately we have begun climbing out of that pit. But it did take a toll on the quality of our television for over a decade.
At the end of the day… go into Python without expecting it to be funny. Don’t listen to your friends or critics, they will only cloud your judgement. Python falls into the problem of their name has such a build up (publically) of the stature of their comedy, that it becomes a handicap when that pedestal that Python was placed upon is not reached by the viewers expectations.
