Decent

Rating: 7/10 (20 February 2019)

Monty Python's Life of Brian is about a man born in around the same time and place as Jesus who seeks to end Roman oppression in Israel. Brian, played by Graham Chapman, joins the People's Front of Judea, a group of men seeking the same goal as him, and together they discuss attacks on the empire to take them down once and for all. Along the way, Brian must decide what he wants out of life and whether the People's Front of Judea is right for him. Life of Brian is a decent comedy that sets up a few great jokes at the expense of the story.
The movie follows Brian's life in distinct sections that each build up to and execute a joke, but some key story elements are lost along the way. One of my favorite gags from the movie comes after Brian is thrown into prison and must stand before the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, played by Michael Palin, to plead his case. Brian and Pontius Pilate have a conversation about a friend named 'Biggus Dickus', a name representing a rather obvious phallus. The ensuing joke is that the guards are not allowed to laugh at the high ranking Roman's name because it would be disrespectful. I love the way Palin plays out this scene because it becomes obvious that he is trying to cause trouble by using the name repeatedly and in humorous ways. Palin makes it very clear that he, as an actor, is trying to have fun with the scene and helps to create a sense of awkward comedy that I enjoyed. Monty Python sets up and cleanly executes jokes that make watching worthwhile.
Of course, a Monty Python movie wouldn't be a Monty Python movie without a section that can be only described as non sequitur. The twist begins with Brian jumping off a building in an effort to flee the Romans. He is quickly abducted by aliens, causing the movie to transform into a low budget Star Wars for a couple of minutes before the UFO crashes back into Earth. Upon landing, the story unpauses like nothing odd has happened. Although this move makes no sense in the context of the plot, it is indicative of the sort of audience Life of Brian is meant for. Monty Python targets audiences that are watching to forget about life for a while, to have a good laugh for once. The surrealism of the alien twist helps to distance the world of Life of Brian further from that of the real one, giving audiences an escape from reality. I really enjoyed this wrench in the story because it was like a breath of fresh air -- it was so different and unexpected that I couldn't help but appreciate it. This twist and many more make Life of Brian a humorous movie.
Because the comedy group of Monty Python consists of only six people, all of the main actors in the film play more than two roles each. This became most obvious to me when I realized mid-film that the leader of the People's Front of Judea and the Roman centurion are played by the same actor, John Cleese. I thought this decision was actually quite brilliant because it gives the film an added layer of irony; the two characters are leaders on opposite sides of the main conflict, and seeing them played by the same person simply doesn't make sense. John Cleese also fits both roles rather well, surprisingly, which added to the comedic effect the film had in store. Cleese's roles in Life of Brian add an interesting fourth-wall-breaking dynamic to the film, making it both more outlandish and comedic.
Monty Python creates for the purpose of humoring audiences over all else, one of their defining characteristics. Comedy takes the driver's seat in Life of Brian, pushing any real compelling storytelling straight to the back burner. Because of the way the scenes are structured, I found it hard to take away elements from each section that contributed to the overarching plot of the movie. I often found myself wondering what the plot of the movie was supposed to be about, or what motivated the characters, and even at the end I still could not piece this story together in my mind. I was often thinking about the story while watching because I found that some of the jokes weren't very funny. In order for this movie style to work, every punchline set up needs to hit hard or else the scene is a failure. Everything in the scene builds up to this joke, so it had better be a good one to make watching it not a waste of time. A good example of this idea working quite well can be seen in another of Monty Python's movies, The Holy Grail. This masterpiece of a movie had me laughing continuously for the entire show at whatever gag they wanted to throw my way. What The Holy Grail does well is that the already solid pieces (the individual jokes) fit together quite nicely with the central plot of King Arthur's quest, whereas Life of Brian has scenes that simply feel both disjointed from the story and lacking of comedic effect.
Life of Brian is worth seeing if you're into the surrealistic comedy of Monty Python or if you enjoyed watching their other big hit, The Holy Grail. However, for the common moviegoer, Life of Brian is too all over the place to digest smoothly. This movie is best when watching with friends or anywhere with a light atmosphere. Life of Brian is an enjoyable film, but it's definitely not the holy grail of Monty Python films. That is why I gave it a 7/10.