The Funniest Movie Ever Made

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2015)

To be clear, this is not the best Monty Python movie when viewed from an artistic standpoint. It is a bit uneven and its paper-cap budget shows through like a fire in snow. In fact, it is likely the least artistic movie on this list, give or take something like a Ferris Bueller. But it is the single funniest thing the troupe ever produced. Every joke's on point. They are not afraid to go crazy or surreal and it works, contributing to one of the more interesting, mind-bending atmosphere one can see. Many times, you get the feeling that you are not watching a movie, but rather actors playing parts. But unlike in so many subpar films produced before and after it, this is not a bad thing. If anything, it contributes to the surreal feel.
By the way, if you want to see the best Python movie from an artistic standpoint, go watch Life of Brian. While not quite as funny as HG, it too has a slew of quotable lines. But they serve as just tremendously entertaining scenery to a piercing satire that focuses on religion but is not afraid to tread out of that zone and go anywhere it feels. Go watch it if you haven't already.
Actually, 'tread out of that zone and go anywhere it feels' is a pretty good descriptor of the Python troupe as a whole. Other than the fact that they at very least popularized a new sort of comedy to the masses, the contributed to my favorite two decades in comedy, the 70s and 80s. For those twenty years, it felt like comedy was not afraid to be wild and crazy, to take over dramatic moments when it pleased, to stride across the field like it was a king. I think that most of the funniest movies I have ever seen come from these two decades, including this one, which I believe to be the funniest movie ever made, though that of course, is subjective.
What is not subjective is how this movie has transcended pop culture then and now. Made on basically a nothing budget, this film made gobs of money at the box office, grabbing the heart of the nation and never really letting go. I don't know too many older movies that continue to be watched to this day. And it certainly is a pleasant watch, even to the average film-goer; everything has aged surprisingly well. It helps that the Python gang was always one to start trends rather than emulate them.
All of the troupe is fantastic in this film. Every line is deliciously delivered. Many people have tried to copy the Python's brand of comedy, but none of them have succeeded in a deep and meaningful way. And a big reason for that is simply that they aren't the performers that these mad, mad fantastic men were. The late Graham Chapman, playing King Arthur, manages to trump them all, though. On its own right, the performance is clever and interesting in its grand, intentional hollowness. But if you have watched the (excellent) performance given by Richard Harris in the (fine but decidedly not -excellent) move adaptation of the play, Camelot, you are not alone. Chapman obviously watched the movie and based at least some element of his performance off Harris'. Knowing this doubles its comedy value. At least for me.
This is one of those films where saying that it looks cheap is not an insult. It was made for nothing and it shows. In fact, the only reason we got the ending that we did is because the troupe ran out of money while making the film and had to adapt. Now, if they had expected us to buy this movie as a straight-ahead adventure story, or even an adventure with a lot of comedic elements, then it would have failed entirely. But they don't. This is a full on screw-ball comedy that knows how weird and bizarre and surreal it is and uses such to its advantage. And the cheapness can actually help with that.
Take the famous coconut-horses. The Python crew did not have nearly enough movie to rent real horses for the duration of shooting. So they came up with the idea to use coconut husks to create what faintly sounded like clopping. Do horses sound exactly like that or even remotely close? Not really. But because the coconut-horses became so ingrained into the minds of society, most any time real horses are shown in film, they have to make sure to include a louder, more coconut-husky sound in order to fit people's mental descriptions of what horses should sound like. Now that's staying power.
If you haven't watched this movie, do so. You may not enjoy it. It is not to everyone's taste. But if you love this movie, you will really love it. If you tell me to pick out my favorite comedy movie of all time, I will not hesitate before picking this one. You owe it to yourself to see this film.
I don't know what quote with which to end this review. So, once more, just see the film for yourself. It's a ride. Every expense is spared, but no joke is. Goodbye.