And Now For Something Completely Different...

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 2005)

King Arthur never did find that Holy Grail, but from the looks of Monty Python's movie about the search, he did meet a lot of interesting people on his quest. The loony comedy troupe that made the popular BBC television show "Monty Python's Flying Circus" which featured silly sketches that often didn't end, the famous animation style that looks more like South Park than The Simpsons, and humor that drew as much from 1960s British current events as it did from the Middle Ages. Monty Python was Dennis Miller before Dennis Miller was out of his diapers. All of these influences on their humor come through in their most complete movie, a retelling of the King Arthur legends and lore. And when I say retelling, I mean a series of sketches that have their root in Middle Ages lore and have some affiliation with King Arthur. Methinks the Knights Who Say Ni did not exist in the late 900s. Graham Chapman plays King Arthur, who does not ride a horse, but rather simulates a horse by banging two coconuts together, as he tours the English countryside, trying to find knights for his round table at Camelot. The knights never do make it to Camelot, as Arthur claims "it is a rather silly place," instead are met by God and told of their quest. The movie then follows each knight as they meet snooty Frenchmen (notably John Cleese and his flying barnyard animals), the Castle Anthrax and the 18-22 year old women who make scandalous underwear, the three-headed knight, and many other odd creatures. My favorite tale is that of Sir Lancelot (again, Cleese) as he tries to save someone from being forced to be married by their father. After taking out the entire wedding party, Lancelot finds Prince Herbert (Terry Jones) and silliness ensues. In true Monty Python fashion, the last scene of the movie does not really fit in with the rest of the movie, but if you know Python, you know it is the right ending of the movie. Fantastic points about society are sprinkled in throughout the movie, jokes about overacting are accentuated by the phrase "Get on with it!" as shouted by other characters in the movie, and we even get to learn some Swedish. Directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, it is a fast paced onslaught of scatological jokes, and shrubbery.