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And Now For Something Completely Different
It is almost an impossible endeavor reviewing a film by Monty Python, Britain’s most beloved group of anarchists and satirists. The jokes and gags are so completely random and dependent upon the delivery, that no explanation of them could possible give them justice unless I gave away the punchline. But giving the punchline away, of course, takes away the surprise. Here, I’ll give an example: There is a sketch in the film in which a few terrified men learn from a loud-mouthed safety instructor how to defend themselves from muggers who use fruit as weapons. “You’ll thank me for this when they threaten you with a deadly banana!” he insists. Yes, it is as bizarre at is sounds, and not particularly funny when read on paper. And yet somehow, because of the performances and the timing, it is funny, particularly in the last, surprising moment when—but see, I can’t give it away and still play fair. Or the pet shop scene, in which a customer comes in with a return, insisting that his parrot is dead even though he bought him only minutes ago. “In fact,” he says, “he was only standing on his perch because he was nailed there.” The clerk insists that the parrot is alive, just asleep, sedated, etc. The clerk then laments that he hates his job and explains how he would rather be a lumberjack. Sounds like a bad night of late night comedy, I know, but somehow, the Python Troupe pull it off, because in the end, they manage to bring the sketch together by—nope, can’t tell you that either; it would give the joke away. You’re beginning to understand my dilemma, I hope. Monty Python consists of five British comedians (John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin) and one Yankee animator (Terry Gilliam). The Brits wrote and perform all of the comedy, and Gilliam deals with the transitions between the sketches, creating animation out of magazine cutouts and photographs that straddles the line between comedic and nightmarish. And Now For Something Completely Different was their first movie, filmed after two successful seasons of their British, Flying Circus television show. The film’s creation is actually an interesting story: An American production company (Playboy Films; yes, there is a relation) caught their show in Great Britain and decided that it was too extreme for American television, but that it would be terrific as a film—particularly in the college circuit. The company pitched the idea of a motion picture to the Pythons, who agreed to film some of their best and/or most successful sketches for an American film release. And Now For Something Completely Different consequently is a plotless variety show, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a variety show of such wicked humor and blatant shock value. The Pythons agreed to make it on the condition that it was only released in America, because Britain would recognize the sketches from the show. This promise was, of course, broken, and while the film developed a cult gathering in the United States, it tanked among the Brits, who found the film’s title to be a blatant lie. Because of its unkind reception on their homefront, And Now For Something Completely Different is not anything that the Pythons are particularly fond of. But for those not familiar with Flying Circus, it will be difficult to keep a straight face at Python’s odd, offbeat sense of humor. The key to the Pythons’ success is their black humor. They poke fun at human weakness, including hypocrisy, British hierarchy, and sexism, in such a way that you are left laughing at their sharp wit and surprisingly honest insight. But you have a sting of guilt mixed in with your giggles; after all, isn’t it a sin to recognize fellow human beings in agony and laugh at their misery? The Anniversary, starring Bette Davis, thought so, and I gave it a one-star rating for it. But there is something different in the tone of the Pythons that makes the laughs acceptable. While The Anniversary harshly belittled the audience as well as the characters, the Pythons recognize that we’re all in this sick, hypocritical world together, and we might as well laugh about it collectively. That explanation works for me, but I’m still stuck in a rut regarding this review. If the Python’s humor cannot be accurately explained or summarized, what else I can I tell you? I suppose the lack of explanation comes from the fact that the Pythons are less about material and more about lifestyle. Their archaic, witty insults are a bit like the Marx Brothers in the way that any material will be made funny when their random, “we’re all a bunch of silly sods” attitude is inserted. Unlike the Marxes however, the Pythons are less the gods of the arena so much as they are the Greek Chorus, pointing out humanity’s absurdity and soliciting laughter. And most of the time, we do laugh. Loudly. What more can I add? Cast: Columbia Pictures presents a Playboy Production release of a film by Python (Monty) Pictures Limited. Directed by Ian MacNaughton. Written by Monty Python. Rated PG, but it would probably score a PG-13 today for comedic violence and lots of innuendo. Running time: 85 minutes. Original United States theatrical release date: August 22, 1972. Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com |
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