Life of Brian (1979) Review - Dylan McCully

Written by Dylan McCully, 10/17/22

Dylan McCully's Cinema: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls521125877/

The Neverending Review or How Life of Brian (and Monty Python in General) Applies to Comtemporary Society - By Dylan Gambolputty de von Ausfern-schplenden-schlitter-crasscrenbon-fried-digger-dingle-dangle-dongle-dungle-burstein-von-knacker-thrasher-apple-banger-horowitz-ticolensic-grander-knotty-spelltinkle-grandlich-grumblemeyer-spelterwasser-kurstlich-himbleeisen-bahnwagen-gutenabend-bitte-ein-nürnburger-bratwustle-gerspurten-mitzweimache-luber-hundsfut-gumberaber-shönendanker-kalbsfleisch-mittler-aucher von Hautkopft of Ulm

Every comedy ever made unfornuately has to be compared to the work of Monty Python. I say that it's unfornuate because nothing is better than Monty Python, whether it be Flying Circus or their films. After The Holy Grail became a leg

endary hit, the Python's took on religion. George Harrison funded Life of Brian, so right off the gate it's going to be a bigger and less miserable production than The Holy Grail. Terry Jones, who co-directed The Holy Grail with Terry Gilliam takes it on solo here.

Graham Chapman plays the lead - Brian - a guy who was born at the same time and right next door to Jesus. Obviously each Python plays many different characters, but one of the most memorable is Terry Jones as Brian's mother.

"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!"

The opening scene starts the laughs off right away as the three kings bring their gifts to the wrong child. After that we get an epic opening tune put to the incredible and wacky animations of Terry Gilliam. Seeing all those names pops up makes you think of how special Monty Python really was. A true comedic genius comes once in a lifetime, but the odds of six comedic geniuses coming together to form a troupe is astronomical. A brief history of Monty Python: Graham Chapman, a doctor, and John Cleese, an aspiring teacher, starting writing together at Cambridge. Along the way the met Eric Idle. During this same time, Michael Palin and Terry Jones were writing comedy at Oxford. The groups eventually met and started to collaborate, and Terry Gilliam, and American, was the last to join. They got a TV show to air on BBC 1, and were pretty much allowed to do anything they wanted. It gained quite a following in Europe, and after their first film was a success, they became legends in the US as well. In fact, Lorne Michaels first met Chevy Chase in line to the Monty Python & the Holy Grail. Their influence, creativity and satire are unmatched by any comedians. Why? Because the members of Monty Python put thought into everything they wrote, broke not only the rules of sketch comedy/comedy itself, but the rules of television. Flying Circus is high art compared to the current sketch comedy titan, Saturday Night Live, which is on its 48th season. The premiere of Flying Circus is funnier than all 48 seasons put together. Anyway, back to the film. There is some funny banter from the crowd in the back of Jesus's latest sermon until a fight breaks out. The next scene is one of the funniest, a man is going to be stoned for saying the lord's name, and all the stoners are women (not allowed to be there) who pretend to be me

n. John Cleese hosts the stoning, and accidently says the lord's name, leading to himself getting stoned. I won't describe every scene in detail, because I can't do the writing and acting justice in a serious review. Eventually Brian goes to this coliseum, where he meets the People's Front of Judea. We are introduced to the PFJ through a scene which people nowadays deem controversial. Eric Idle plays Stan, who wants to be called Loretta. Some get offended at a scene where Cleese talks about his struggle against reality. I truly don't understand why people get offended at anything, because as they sing at the end of the film:

"For life is quite absurd, and death's the final word. You must always face the curtain with a bow. Forget about your sin. Give the audience a grin."

"Life's a piece of shit, When you look at it. Life's a laugh and death's a joke. It's true. You'll see it's all a show. Keep 'em laughing as you go. Just remember that the last laugh is on you. And always look on the bright side of life..."

It may seem cynical, that life and death mean nothing, but as with anything Monty Python has ever done, it's based on the truth. Our lives are astonomically short compared to the universe, nothing we do will last, so why take a joke so personally? Life is a brief period of existing where you have to find ways to amuse yourself to keep it interesting. Monty Python realized this and they took maybe the boldest image - that of crucifixtion - and had a good laugh at it. I try to live my life not from moment to moment, but from laugh to laugh. If you are sad, angry, worried, etc. you are doing it all wrong. Sorry for the tangent, but I see stars being taking off for that scene, which means they missed the point of the film and cannot fathom the philosophy of Monty Python. Eventually, Brian joins the PFJ. I won't go into detail about the plot, because that is the least important aspect at play. Brian gets captured by the emperor Pontius Pilate, played by Michael Palin. It is impossible to contain laughter at the Biggus Dickus scene. Brian escapes and starts preaching something, and after a series of small but plentiful mishaps, he's got a whole group of worshippers now. The main theme of the film is too be you - think for yourself, don't do something because everyone else does it.

Brian: Look, you've got it all wrong! You don't NEED to follow ME, You don't NEED to follow ANYBODY! You've got to think for your selves! You're ALL individuals!

The Crowd: Yes! We're all individuals!

Brian: You're all different!

The Crowd: Yes, we ARE all different!

Other than religious or political wackos, I think most social media users, at least the ones I see, can take something from this films message about independence of thought. I'm not really on the bigger platforms, or really the smaller platforms for that matter, but everything I've seen is either a stupid person arguing against other idiot, or a group of idiots arguing against a group of stupid people. People do this because we as a species are more comfortable in groups (That's why a lot of mammals travel in packs). We don't like to hear something that we disagree with, or feel any discomfort with. People are in their own heads too much these days, here;s how to fix it: form your opinions from what you can actually see and do in the real world, not based on what you see on a screen. That won't get you anywhere, which is the point of the film.

Cleese: Listen, the only people we hate more than the Romans are the fucking Judean People's Front.

Judith, Idle, Palin: [Murmurs of agreement and "splitters"]

Palin: And the Judean Popular People's Front.

Cleese, Judith, Idle: [More enthusiastic agreements]

Idle: And the People's Front of Judea!

Cleese: [Agreements stop suddenly] What?

Idle: The People's Front of Judea, splitters!

Cleese: We're the People's Front of Judea!

Idle: Oh! I thought we were the Popular Front.

Another social media trend I've noticed is the worship of celebrities, or when someone famous says something, it means more. I'm not even talking about geniuses or scientists, philosophers or historians, I'm talking about actors and musicians and others from the same cloth. When a celebrity says the popular opinion, they are God to these people. When a celebrity says the unpopular opinion, they are Satan to these people. If someone random says it, no one cares in the least. Just because an account is verified doesn't make what they say sacred, or any more important than what you or I say or think. Graham Chapman expliticitly states this in the film many times. I wonder if the Trump/Q-Anon followers question their beliefs after watching Life of Brian. Unfornuately, they probably don't. The last trend is one of conformity, that someone else is doing this or looks like this so I have to do it, too. People will get jealous of other's looks or possessions, but again, why? Living life miserably is futile. Live to laugh and love, not cry and hate.

The reason I went on and on about this is because no one seems to get it. This is what I take from Monty Python, not just the film, but everything they've done. They've went against the grain and told the truth through comedy, which a lot of people don't do nowadays. Any Monty Python project will make you laugh, and then think. A few comedians elsewhere have done this, but it's few and far between. Life of Brian and every Python project is a work of collective genius, firing on all cylinders to make us laugh, think, and to break the conformity in modern society. But, just as no one understood what Brian was trying to say in the film, the members of Monty Python are sharp enough to know that no one would understand what they were trying to say in the movie and that nothing would really change. 8.5/10