If you're intelligent and have a bizarre sense for the absurd, you'll love this movie.

Rating: 10/10 (29 September 2005)

I could write volumes about this beloved movie, but I won't, being limited as I am.
From what I understand, one major complaint many had about this movie is that it disrespects Jesus Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth! A college friend of mine, who's very religious, refused to go see it, believing this to be the case. I assured him that it doesn't mock Christ, so he took my word for it and went to see it.
He enjoyed it, as did the rest of my friends. I explained to him that what the movie is mocking is the fringe element, nuts who glom on to anything and everything to follow en masse. The little bit Jesus is depicted (eg, the Sermon on the Mount,) is not disrespectful in the least.
The movie is zany, looney and nutso, as one would expect from MPFC. As always, there're things going on in the background that you need to watch for, little subtle bits that this troupe is famous for.
The basic storyline is how Brian, as he's growing up, gets caught up in things going on in Roman-occupied Jerusalem. He's often a victim of circumstance, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and rarely gets anything like a break. He's a likable fellow as a protagonist and you can't help but identify with him when things always go so wrong for him.
Now, some little factoids about the movie. It was filmed in Tunisia, and what the viewer doesn't know is that there were often scorpions in the immediate vicinity; they said the area was riddled with them. Something non-MPFC fans might not know is that Graham Chapman, in the lead as Brian, was also a medical doctor. He was not only the star of the show, but the physician for the cast and crew. When he wasn't in front of the camera, he'd hold "surgeries" (as the British call them) to treat people for various ailments, usually dysentery or scorpion stings.
The movie actually had TWO directors: the Two Terrys (Jones and Gilliam.) (Terry G., as they called him, was the token American in MPFC.) One more thing, before I go over the limit and write a novella: There's one scene in this movie that has NOTHING to do with it AT ALL, it comes out of the blue, it's hysterically funny. See the movie, if only for that one scene, it's worth it. You'll know it when you see it.