My favourite comedy ever!

Rating: 10/10 (25 June 2010)

What does it take a film to be immortalized? What moves audiences and critics alike to carve a special place in history for them? James Cameron would argue that it's innovation in special effects; Francis Ford Coppola and Peter Jackson would have you know it's the depth of a story and its epic development through trilogies; Orson Welles was quite sure it was a film's ability to perform above its time and deal with perennial topics. They would all be correct, and their respective films have triumphed and remain must-sees to the world at large. But what would be Monty Python's answer to the above questions? How would the members of this perfect English troupe deal with the pure genius of their films and the depth of their comedy? They'd stand by the fact that, um, a good deal of moose, coconut-carrying African swallows, cheeky revolutionary peasants, 'Ni'-saying knights, Broadway-style numbers and a famous historian are the key to a great, pitch-perfect comedy that stands the test of time...and you know what? Even through their silliness, they'd be correct.
Monty Python is a group of English thespians composed of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Just to read their names together makes the reader raise his/her eyebrow in amusement, for their household names, synonyms of pure comedy. Monty Python gave England its laughs with their satirical, modern and outrageous humour reminiscent of Peter Cook, Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, and the few feature films they made together caused such uproar around the world that they're now considered utter classics by critics, film associations, cults, universities and families. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", possibly their most iconic film, is my personal favourite.
The plot follows King Arthur, who has only just retrieved Excalibur from its stony perch and has been informed by the Lady of the Lake that he's to become the greatest king ever. He now travels through the entire country searching for brave, wise, gallant knights who'd like to join him at his round table at Camelot. Sounds quite epic and historical, doesn't it? Well, it's anything but. The film is hilariously nonsensical, too outrageous to be believed, silly at its core; it constantly strays from the plot to present different ridiculous sketches of the knights, it presents events that are not only unbelievable but preposterous...it is, in short, a farce of what comedies and epics have come to be. But unlike other silly movies like "Scary Movie", the film's parody is pure genius and manages to make heavy political, religious and cultural statements throughout, and the silliness is actually uproarious. I laugh every single minute of it, and younger audiences will find that, even if THEY'RE not doing so, the wit and intelligence underlying the ridiculous events astonish them. Audiences of every age and generation have found this to be a comic gem to be treasured.
The film begins with THE wittiest opening credits I've seen to date. They're shown upon a black screen featuring ominous, dramatic music and Swedish subtitles. Through the course of the credits roll, the subtitles no longer translate what is being written in English but give out the weirdest, most non-sensical statements about moose; soon after the credits stop and a disclaimer announces that those responsible for the stupid subtitles have been sacked. The subtitles resume, and once again the disclaimer appears saying that those responsible for sacking have been sacked too. More credits appear, like "Moose special effects," "Moose trainers," "Miss Avery's moose", "No moose have been harmed in the making of this film," etc...to the point where a third disclaimer appears saying that everyone responsible for the credits has been sacked and a new set of people have been quickly rounded up to finish the credit sequence, which grows sillier and sillier to the very end. The opening credits foretell the silliness of the film aptly, for the remaining hour and forty minutes is a wild and crazy romp that will have you in awe. Never (and I mean NEVER) has a film been simultaneously silly and profound like this.
I can't name any particular scene to exemplify the film's genius. I rather have the reader rent or buy the film and be treated to its wonder without any warning of the surprises in store. There's epic fight scenes, outrageous musical numbers, heavy parody, controversial political and religious statements, interwoven modern scenes, some animation and, well, just about the best screen writing and acting I've ever seen. So...What DOES it take for a film to be immortalized? The answer is pure and simple: it needs to be the inspired work of geniuses, and Monty Python lives up to those standards.
Please, if you know what's best for you, SEE THIS FILM! Rating: 4 stars out of 4!!