Monty Python at their most irreverent

Rating: 7/10 (23 June 2018)

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL shows off the talents of the Monty Python team at their most irreverent. This is a very broad comedic spoof exploring the medieval legend of King Arthur, taking care to deliver a unique mix of spoofery, cross dressing, slapstick, surreal humour, animation, character gags and basically everything thrown in except the kitchen sink. It's a high-energy enterprise that gets by without very much money at all and makes the very cheapness an asset. The team are all present and assembled well here, taking on numerous roles each. The story is episodic and sometimes little more than a series of linked sketches, but most of the jokes are very funny indeed, and there are some classic scenes: the Black Knight, Tim the Enchanter, the Knights who Say Ni, and plenty more besides. This is the kind of film that makes me proud to be British.