Monty Python’s: Life of Brian (R)

As discussed in my previous review, my two-decade plus love for “The Holy Grail” made me a devout fan of the comedy troupe Monty Python. Having never watched the two other movies the Pythons produced after “Grail,” I decided it was long overdue to check them out.

Four years after “Grail,” Monty Python would return with their second full length feature film – 1979s “Life of Brian.” Following in “Grail” format, “Brian” continued the group’s departure from their trademark sketch comedy and brought about another linear plot story with original material. With the Python cast; Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, and Eric Idle writing and playing multiple roles, “Life of Brian” boasts an incredibly unorthodox synopsis for sure, one that almost anyone would envision as uniquely funny.

So-called experts have lauded “Life of Brian” as not only the best of the three Python films, but one of the best comedies of all time. The “experts” could not have been further from correct. Not only is “Brian” by far the worst of the Python pieces, but one of the absolute worst movies I have ever seen – one I couldn’t even muster the stamina to get through in its entirety – forty-five minutes in and I was sad to turn it off.

From the onset, the premise looks like a thing of comedic beauty. The movie follows the life of a one Brian Cohen (Chapman), an absolute no one who happened to have born on the same day and just a few stables down from Jesus Christ, at first confusing the three wise men into believing him to be the Messiah.

The movie follows Brian as he goes about, himself infatuated with the teachings of Jesus. The movie takes sharp stabs at religion and the politics of the era, as Brian flees the forces of Pontius Pilate (Palin).

Unlike “Grail,” “Brian” seems as if the Python’s were trying too hard to make a statement – with a critique of organized religion and Roman rule (among other things) and as such failed to do what made “Grail” so great – be silly and have fun. The humor is flat and misses at every step of the way. I didn’t laugh one time. I’m not really sure why, it’s just not funny at all. It reminded me of a once great sitcom that had stuck around too long.

It’s almost an unfair standard – to compare anything to one of the best comedies of all time. But if “Grail” would go down as one of my top twenty favorites, “Brian” easily goes down as one of my all time stinkers.

by – Matt Christopher