Life of Brian - Blessed is this film (and the cheese-makers)

The Monty Python boys have had their ups and downs – mainly within their ranks, while their output has remained pretty solid – from revolutionising TV comedy with their surreal and ‘anything can happen’ way of doing things to their big-screen epics (and by that I mean ‘The Holy Grail’ and, of course, ‘The Life of Brian’ (notice how I kind of forgot The Meaning of Life – which is basically a sketch show where some scenes work better than others).

I was pretty young when Brian hit the cinemas and I didn’t know anything about it – only that I wasn’t allowed to watch it (not just because I was about fifteen years too young) but because my local cinema refused to show it and you had to drive to the next town to see it.  Yes, it’s that (allegedly) controversial.  The reason being is because it makes fun of Jesus/Christianity. Only it doesn’t.  That’s basically what people who didn’t see it and didn’t want to like it said about it.  Yes, it is set during Jesus’ time (and Jesus himself is never ridiculed, shown only twice – once as an infant surrounded by angels the way you’d see in any nativity play and once on a hillside, preaching to his numerous followers).

No, Life of Brian – as you may have guessed by the title – is a film about Brian – just an average guy of the time who becomes hopelessly out of his depth when he’s accidentally mistaken for the messiah.  What follows is typical madcap Monty Python humour.  No, it never makes fun of Christianity, only the way things (in that time period) can be misinterpreted and distorted into what others want them to be.

If you like Monty Python – you’ll love this.  If you like comedy – you’ll like this.  If you haven’t seen it yet and have an appreciation for satire – you’ll also love this.  There are so many classic scenes and phrases that you’ve probably already heard and yet never known where they come from contained within.  There’s hard to pick a stand-alone performance from the cast – John Cleese’s height and general loudness puts him up there, but, seriously, it’s well and truly a team effort.

Life of Brian is one of those rarest of films – one that stands up to the tests of time and is still as relevant and funny today as it was when I wasn’t allowed to watch it.  Brian may not be the chosen one, but this film certainly should be.

10/10 The Monty Python Knights of Camelot are currently looking for this