I grew up watching Monty Python. Well, not when I was like, 7, but as it became more age appropriate I would stay up catch the reruns on my local PBS station. I wasn’t old enough to see any of the films when they hit theaters, but when Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life had finished it’s theatrical run I was spending the night at a friend’s house and we were checking out what was on the pay movie channel and this film was on. He didn’t know what to think about it, didn’t get it, and refused to watch it.
It would be a couple more years before I was on my own and was able to rent this film, along with the others the comedy troupe did. And I’m glad I didn’t see it all as an early teen because I simply wouldn’t have appreciated it. There’s so much about Monty Python that works for a wide range of ages, with their trademark silliness and nonsequitors. Then there is the more grown up material that teens will readily understand.
There is a smaller body of work that Monty Python did, however, that really is intended for adults not because of the visceral content (which is there, yes) but because it really is much more deep than people realize. Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life is both an examination for the meaning of life as well as a skewering of the exact same thing.
One of the funniest bits in all of “Pythondom” kicks off the film, and isn’t actually part of it. The Crimson Permanent Insurance is technically a short and separate from the film, but contains some cast members in small roles and was written and directed by Terry Gilliam who had recently released Time Bandits and was working on Brazil. And oh, the cleverness of the wordplay. The action. It is, in my opinion, one of the best things produced by Monty Python, including individual bits from their television series.
The film itself was directed by Terry Jones, who was also behind the camera for the previous two films. What separates The Meaning Of Life from Holy Grail or Life Of Brian is narrative. Meaning Of Live is much more of a return to the sketch comedy, only this time it is much more thematic. Starting off with “Birth” (and the machine that goes *PING*) we skip through several stages of life only to come to the inevitable conclusion “Death” (and knowing Graham Chapman was gay, it makes his chosen method of death all the more hilarious).
Offensive? Absolutely. There’s a bit in the middle that even I have a difficult time stomaching (ha) but even then the concept and performances are top notch. There’s some nudity, plenty of bad words, a bit of gushing blood (done for comic effect, of course) and even mistreatment of a classroom.
Monty Python’s The Meaning Of Life is certainly not the way to introduce somebody to the comedy troupe. There are plenty of great episodes from the television series for that. No, this film is for those who know what they are in for.
Most of the special features from the previous DVD return, but there are a couple of glaring omissions. First off there’s the missing DVD ROM material. You were able to pop your disc into the computer and get a copy of the complete script and song sheets. These are sorely missed. Then there’s the “director’s cut” which is gone. It folded in a few of the deleted scenes that were trimmed for timing purposes but really worked well back in the film. Gone. Those deleted scenes are still on disc, just separately.
Everything else returns, that includes the audio commentary, the “soundtrack for the lonely” which is odd and disturbing should you listen to it all the way through, the deleted scenes, alternate versions of the songs and much more. It’s already a decent package.
Two new items make their debut on this 30th anniversary edition. Most notably is the new hour long feature looking back at the film and the comedy troupe and well worth at the very least renting the disc if you’re a fan of Monty Python. There are stories here that you won’t want to miss. Also new is a karaoke mode for the film’s songs.
I hate having to keep two copies of the same film in my collection, and my wife is a lot less tolerant. Universal isn’t helping matters any. Pick up the Blu-ray, but hold on to that previous DVD as well.