Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Warning 1: Both the movie & the following review are Rated A for India & R for America. So proceed with discretion.

Warning 2: If you haven't seen the other 2 Monty Python movies, don't see repeat do not see this movie.

Verdict:  9/10

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, unlike the 2 previous movies each of which had a full length continuous plot, is a sketch comedy. The movie is directed by Terry Jones except for the opening short film 'The Crimson Permanent Assurance' which was directed by Terry Gilliam. The 6 Pythons played more than 75 roles among themselves in this movie.

The movie starts with an amazing short film called 'The Crimson Permanent Assurance' which is nothing like I've ever seen. Comparing tired old people working in a company to slaves in a slave ship & developing this into a short film! Only a Python can devise a satire like this. The old people revolting against their more efficient young bosses to take over the company is shown as the slaves revolting against their captors & taking over the ship. The old people now run the company (shown as pirate ship) & attack other big corporations & finally fall off the edge of the world. The whole sequence is so incredibly shot that I was completely left in awe. Even a Python hater should see the opening sequence which runs for roughly 16 minutes. The old actors who performed here are brilliant.

The main movie starts after roughly 16 minutes. As I mentioned before, this is a sketch comedy. The movie is divided into 7 parts with each part dealing with an aspect of human life starting with "Part I: The Miracle Of Birth" & ending with "Part VII: Death". Each part is a different sketch with no relation between any parts.

Coming to the humour, this movie is definitely not for everyone. You need to first see the other 2 Python movies to get used to the Python humour. This movie includes some of the most outrageous, disturbing, horrid yet funny scenes that I've ever seen. I don't see many people liking every scene in the movie. Part VI starts with a disgusting hotel scene (which I actually enjoyed). If you are feeling uneasy or nauseated with full stomach before Part VI, I would advise you to have a paper bag ready in hand (just in case you vomit).

The child birth scene, liver transplant scene are amongst the funny but disturbing scenes.

The sketches that I absolutely cherished are the whole of Part I including the superb song "Every Sperm is Sacred", the sex education class, Part IV which was brilliant, "Galaxy Song" in Part V, the whole of Part VII especially when the convict is being killed in a manner of his choice. I will not mention what his choice was but what do you think was his choice? In fact try asking your friends, if given a chance how would they choose to die. You would be surprised with the answers. I always loved the Grim Reaper with scythe (see my profile photo). To see that character in the movie was nice. 

Some of the boring moments for me were the tiger scene & the middle of the film.     

Unlike the previous movies, this can be classified as a semi-musical with quite a few songs. In fact there is a song called "Isn't It Awfully Nice to Have a Penis?". Another song is "Every Sperm is Sacred". An interesting fact is that he kids who sang "Every Sperm is Sacred" later said they had no idea what they were singing about. The music & background score of the film are terrific.

Viewer discretion is necessary as there is a quite a bit of nudity in the film. The words Sperm, Penis, Vagina, etc., are liberally used. Some violence is there.

Behind the ludicrous funny sketches, the movie is asking questions about religious interference, education system, monotonous life, etc,. If you are seriously expecting the meaning of life from the movie, it only shows one thing. You don't know Monty Python yet.  

After seeing the 3 Python movies one important thing that came into my mind is how good actors the Pythons were. I think because of the nature of the subjects they are dealing with, their acting is highly undermined. They are such an amazing talent not only as writers but also as actors. Their performance in the female roles is unsurpassed. I only wished that they made some more movies.

Read my reviews of the other 2 Python movies. Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Monty Python's Life of Brian.

Feel free to share your views & comments about the movie.