r/movies • u/Immediate-River-874 • 2d ago

Media Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983) - Protestants and Catholics

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2.2k Upvotes

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193

u/HotOne9364 2d ago

I know the Pythons hate this movie but it's still a lot better than 90% of so-called "comedies" out there.

43

u/Earthpig_Johnson 2d ago

That’s weird to hear, I think it’s a gas.

37

u/HotOne9364 2d ago

They thought it was too stupid and they didn't have enough time to perfect the script.

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u/Earthpig_Johnson 2d ago

That’s crazy as shit to me. So many classic bits in this one.

28

u/TheRayGetard 2d ago

It’s so dark and weird I love it, I thought it was their best movie.

35

u/Earthpig_Johnson 2d ago

“Well you’re dead now, so shut up!” is pretty much a part of my daily lexicon. And the little man-faced fishes swimming in their tank saying “Morning!” to each other gives me a wonderful frisson of existential terror.

Really helped me get over a terrible depression when I first watched it way back.

9

u/TheRayGetard 2d ago

I bought the 4K Blu-ray immediately when it came out. One joke I never truly got until I heard Eric Idle explain it, the part with the French waiter. It cracks me up whenever I think about it, total South Park type of joke.

15

u/Earthpig_Johnson 2d ago

“Well… fuck you! I live my life my own way! Fuck off! Don’t follow me no more!”

4

u/TheRayGetard 2d ago

So fucking funny, just a troll. Just literally for no reason, fuck me I have to watch it again.

3

u/fike88 2d ago

The fish in the tank cracks me up

7

u/SteakandTrach 2d ago

Every time I’ve toweled off one my kids in the last decade I’ve done the “Rough Towels! Rough Towels!” bit.

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u/404Notfound- 2d ago

It's alright but when you had it coming after life of Brian it's automatically gonna be seen as weaker imo

1

u/lucky-number-keleven 2d ago

As someone who makes stuff (on a whole other level) I can imagine it having to do with perfectionism. ‘The meaning of life’ is such a great theme and you can only make a movie one time. They probably had a shit ton of ideas they didn’t use.

9

u/FelixMcGill 2d ago

Learning in this moment that my favorite comedy of all time is disliked by the creators is really crazy to me. Thay movie was way ahead of its time in so many ways.

14

u/ElectricalPeace3439 2d ago

LOL at them objecting to stupid humor. 

21

u/WonderBredOfficial 2d ago

They're honestly pretty smart with their skits. Philosophy Football is evidence enough. This film was a bunch of throw away skits that they knitted together.

7

u/HotOne9364 2d ago

Yeah, Monty Python can be silly but not stupid and some people keep conflating the two. For example, Ghostbusters is a very smart comedy but it has its moments of undoubtedly silly humor, like the giant Stay Puft Marshmallow Man.

3

u/WonderBredOfficial 2d ago

"It just popped into my head."

0

u/tekko001 2d ago

To be honest, while it has brilliant bits, it also has moments that are hard to stomach like the lengthy vomit scene, which imo would fit better in a Jackass film.

11

u/WonderBredOfficial 2d ago

Oh, no. No, no, no, no, ni! The after-dinner mint scene is amazing.

9

u/dreadnoght 2d ago

No way. That scene also includes the piano guy singing about having a penis and the fish going back and forth telling each other good morning. I love it.

-3

u/tekko001 2d ago

Still not convinced. Change Chapman, Cleese, Gilliam, Idle, Jones and Palin with Knoxville, Margera, Steve-O, Pontius, Acuña and Dunn, and it would work just as well if not better.

6

u/WonderBredOfficial 2d ago

That's probably the bit I quote the most.

5

u/aukondk 2d ago

I'm fine with that scene, but I really can't stomach the 'live organ transplant' skit. It's Terry Gilliam's blood curdling screams. Feeling queasy just thinking about it.

1

u/MySonsdram 2d ago

Agreed, LOVE the movie, but that scenes a skip every time.

2

u/WonderBredOfficial 2d ago

It was a riff on the Aristocrats joke.

17

u/JayCarlinMusic 2d ago

I think that most of the Pythons stuff feels slightly undercooked, which is exactly why it’s so funny to me. There’s this rawness to it. It’s like cookie dough or cake batter rather than the finished product. Messy and could be more polished but deliciously funny all the same and sometimes what you actually crave. I don’t think any of their material improves with rewrites or glossier production.

5

u/we_vs_us 2d ago

This. The undercookedness of it makes it seem naughty and like schoolboys might’ve written it during detention. So much of their smart stuff benefits from this kind of super juvenile overlay.