Director: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
Writer: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin (Screenplay)
Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleverland
Plot: The comedy team takes a look at life in all its stages in their own uniquely silly way.
Tagline – It took God six days to create the earth, and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up.
Runtime: 1 Hour 47 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: One for the Fans
Story: The Meaning of Life is a series of different ideas of the meaning of life from point of views, we enter into different class, different religions and different careers. Each chapter connects to the previous which adds to the bigger point in the comedy behind just what is being poked fun at.
Thoughts on The Meaning of Life
Story – With this being a series of sketches it doesn’t make it difficult to talk about the story, we have so many different mini stories which are clearly put together to show the different stages of life, from birth to death as the search for the meaning of life is put together. Most of the sketches generally miss which end up feeling flat as they just don’t build up to the moment of comedy required, it has also ended up feeling very dated with the way it handles everything in a not so subtle manor.
Comedy – The comedy in this film is all about taste, if you are not a fan of the Monty Python team, you won’t enjoy the comedy through the film, bit like myself. If you are a fan you will get to laugh more.
Settings – The film takes us to multiply locations for each sketches, each will become clear for the message trying to be told.
Scene of the Movie – Catholic and Protestants
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Most of the comedy misses.
Final Thoughts – This is a sketch movie that tries to play through important moments in history and only feels too forced for anything to really be anything special.
Overall: Sketch show comedy.
Rating
2 replies on “The Meaning of Life (1983)”
I personally find Monty Python’s comedy to be horribly aged.
There was a time where I could laugh about their skits, but jokes and comedy has evolved since. I can still chuckle but it’s more a “how silly were we chuckle’ then a laugh at the actual joke.
I can sorta enjoy the ones with an overarching narrative but their sketch movies, I’m done with in like one or two sketches.
I have just never got into their comedy work, but don’t get along with most comedy.