If life seems jolly rotten, there's something you've forgotten...

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2006)

... And that's to watch a Monty Python film and laugh yourself to death. Their sense of humor hasn't dated a bit, and it still satisfies audiences around the world. Life of Brian was released in 1979, but it keeps ranking high in people's TOP 10 comedy lists (in my case, it shares the first place with Young Frankenstein). Even the most depressed people in the universe will feel happy again once they've seen this incredibly funny movie.
Now, a short message to those intimidated by the fact that Life of Brian was banned in some countries (though eventually released after a few years) for its supposed "blasphemy": there is nothing blasphemous in this film. All right, it makes fun of prophets, messiahs, wise men and crucifixion, and yes, Jesus does show up for a couple of seconds, in the infamous "Blessed are the cheese-makers" sequence, but the Pythons didn't mean to mock the Bible. They just wanted to tell the story of an ordinary man, Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), who just happened to live in that period. It's an enjoyable satire on everyday life, both Jewish and Roman (or Woman, as Michael Palin would say), in 33 AD Judea.
The movie has so many memorable gags and characters it's impossible to list all of them: my personal favorites are Pontius Pilate (Michael Palin) with his speaking defect (see the Woman part) and his friend Biggus Dickus (Chapman again), the PFJ led by John Cleese's Reg, and of course the immortal ending, which I won't and can't reveal, but I assure you: rarely has a comedy had such a brilliant, original conclusion. It's in the same league as Some Like it Hot's "Well, nobody's perfect!".
So, I really hope you'll have a good time with Britain's best comedians. I sure did.
Oh, by the way: always look on the bright side of life...