Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Monty Python's The Meaning Of LifeThe makers and the actors seems to be enjoying too much of themselves and is taking the audience for granted considering the fame and royalty earned by the predecessor, which never goes in favor no matter how amusing or intriguing concept is being pulled off. There are few bits in here where the writer takes it too far and pushes the audience to a darker path on its ridiculous failed attempts to crack a smile. The script is a bit overstretched since the material offered in here is wafer thin and lacks any sort of structure or lose thread to hold the audience. It is short on technical aspects like sound department, art design and editing. Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam; the directors, fails to create the anticipated impact and execute their vision or even offer the suitable environment and palpable tone to the feature. The actors have stayed true to their comic side of their personality and draws out laughs as much as possible with their humorous gestures and act. Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life is a meaningless experience for the audience as the enthusiasm seems to have worn off from the makers creating a hollow emptiness that can't be filled with any material.

This is one of the best comedies I have ever seen. It's probably in my Top 10, if not Top 5. While I (and most other people) consider "Monty Python And The Holy Grail" to be the best Monty Python movie, this is still amazing. What's interesting is that since it's an anthology movie, I've actually seen bits and pieces of it over the years. I already saw about 38 minutes of it before. It's of course worth it to see the whole thing.It seems as though everything is unrelated, but it really does make a lot more sense at the end. We even get a nice happy ending with everything resolved and guess what? They actually tell you the meaning of life at the end! Well, at least what they think it is. It really isn't a mean spirited movie or anything. I don't, however, recall the original Monty Python show being this graphic or obscene. You can just get away with a lot more in movies. I think my favorite segment would probably be the bit with Mr. Caruso. Yes, it's disgusting, but it's hilarious. I also love the lengthy opening bit as that honestly probably works better as action than comedy. It's extremely unpredictable, yet it does form somewhat of a coherent narrative. Among all of their films, this is the one that seemed the most like their show. ****

Movie is basically a bunch of short sketches that purport to show the meaning of life (They don't). It opens with a laugh less and stupid 20 minute short about an insurance company being run by pirates. From then on it doesn't change much. About 90% of the sketches have no laughs in them at all and are just pointless. There are some bright spots--The "Every Sperm is Sacred" song and dance is cute; John Cleese teaching his students about sex with his wife is funny; the Zulu war bit was amusing; the liver organ donor sketch was VERY bloody but funny and a visit from Death at the end was clever. However there's a sketch about an incredibly obese man visiting a restaurant and constantly vomiting over everybody and everything. It's not funny...just sick. Also that comes towards leaving a bad taste (sorry) for the film as a whole. Python fans might want to take a look but you can safely stay away from this one.

In some ways MONTY PYHTON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE has dated badly since its original release in 1983. Many of its attitudes, especially towards sex and gender, are needlessly sexist, reminiscent of the days when Benny Hill dominated British television screens with his plethora of half-clad ladies. One could argue that the Pythons are making fun of such attitudes, but when one sketch includes a scene of a male fugitive (Michael Palin) being pursued by a bevy of topless totties, we do begin to wonder about the film's stance.Structurally speaking THE MEANING OF LIFE is a mess, a ragbag collection of sketches stitched together under an umbrella title, rather like one of the Pythons' television shows. There is even less plot-line than LIFE OF BRIAN or MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL; what we soon realize is that the film is not going to explore the meaning of life, but rather provide a showcase for the Pythons' idiosyncratic brand of humor. Some of the sketches are just plain puerile, reflecting the writers' experiences of the British public school (read private in the US) system. As an educator, John Cleese makes love to his wife in front of a class of bored male learners; once the joke has been established, the sketch soon wears thin. The staff take on the learners at rugby and use the occasion as an excuse to beat the learners up: we are left thinking "so what?"On the other hand the Pythons manage to land some telling satirical blows. They satirize a Health Service more concerned with impressing administrators than looking after patients; and deflate the often archaic brand of muscular Christianity that prevails at many of Britain's educational institutions. The scene involving Mr. Creosote (Terry Jones) is strong meat for anyone, but reminds us of how our penchant for rich food often leads us to over-eat. In a culture apparently dedicated to the celebrity chef, the thrust of this sketch is more pertinent now than it was over three decades ago.For Python addicts there are familiar milestones such as Eric Idle- themed songs, directly aimed to replicate the success of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" in LIFE OF BRIAN. Terry Gilliam's animations continue to fascinate for their sheer surrealistic inventiveness, while it is fun to see the late lamented Graham Chapman in a variety of roles. All in all there is something in this film for everyone -- provided you look hard enough.