What can you say about Monty Python? Well, quite a few things actually. Monty Python began as a British sketch show known as Monty Python's Flying Circus. The show was quite popular with sketches like "the dead parrot sketch" and "the lumberjack sketch" still well known and loved today. But the most popular production (and possibly their best) was Monty Python and the Holy Grail. This movie really is the Holy Grail of comedy lovers. At this point, I am talking to only three groups of people here. Those who have seen The Holy Grail and loved it. Those who have seen The Holy Grail and hated it, and those who have never seen The Holy Grail, but have heard of it. I am part of the first group and am addressing the second and third. This film is in no way a perfect film, but on the other hand if a perfect film does exist I have not seen it yet. Now before people start bashing this movie I would like to remind everyone that Monty Python has inspired a great deal of American comedy including the popular Saturday Night Live show. They have influenced, for better or for worse, a great deal of American and British humor. In fact when most people think of British humor they think of Monty Python.
But is this movie really worth all the praise and admiration given to it by it's adoring fans? Or is it just another one of those cult classics that no one really understands? Allow me to share my observations on the film and determine for yourself. First of all, who is the target audience for this movie? This is just a guess here, but I would say the movie is mainly aimed towards young men ages 15-35. I have reached this conclusion based on the fact, that although the film is one of those films that actually managed to be popular with several generations, It did have a very specific impact point. In my observation the film is more successful with younger men. More often than not, women who view The Holy Grail tend to walk out missing the point of the movie and have a difficult time discerning the point. It is not meant for younger children, despite it's PG rating, but I'll get to that later. The Holy Grail strikes an odd balance between ridiculously juvenile and surprisingly intellectual. For example, in one scene Arthur attempts to find knights to join him at the round table, but instead is criticized by one of the peasants for hanging on to dated imperialist dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in their society. When Arthur tries to explain that he is king, due to the Lady of the Lake bestowing to him Excalibur, he is criticized again for attempting to wield supreme executive authority based on nothing more than a 'farcical aquatic ceremony'. The unique brand of humor that Monty Python brings is evident in the opening credits which start off normal enough, but becomes increasingly more obvious that fake credits and subtitles have been slipped in there, so much so that at several points the credits actually shut down and a message appears apologizing for the errors. Eventually, the credits are finished with a completely random set of credits completely unrelated to the movie. As with most Monty Python productions, periodically throughout the movie random animations will appear that are also completely unrelated to the film, but somewhat amusing. Of the four Monty Python films The Holy Grail is the only one with a coherent and somewhat connected plot line with the possible exception of Life of Brian. The movie often employs techniques such as breaking the fourth wall and the above mentioned non sequiturs which might be annoying to people who dislike these methods of comedy.
But does it sit well with it's intended audience? I would say yes, for what they have set out to accomplish they have certainly succeeded. To be well versed in Monty Python and the Holy Grail is considered geeky and in my experience it has been a huge success with a lot of young men that have seen it. As I said before, it does not do nearly as well with women as it does with men, although that may have something to do with the fact that women do not play a huge role in Monty Python altogether. The Holy Grail is the only Arthur film where Queen Guinevere is not even mentioned let alone seen. The show as well as the film often has men dressing up as women for comedic effect, whereas the actual female actors have very little to do. That combined with a great deal of unfettered silliness and juvenile humor tends to leave a bad impression of Monty Python with it's female viewers. Not to say that there are not any female Monty Python fans, on the contrary, there are quite a few, it just wasn't really catered to them. Considering that this is a film version of a British sketch show it does surprisingly well for itself. Some scenes from this movie (Such as Arthur vs. The Black Knight) are just as famous if not more so then their best sketches.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail was made in 1975 before the invention of the PG-13 rating, so it is not quite as family friendly as its PG rating implies. There is one scene in paticular where a group of women attempt to seduce Sir Gallhad and almost succeed before Sir Lancelot arrives and rescues him. The scene starts off innocent enough, but the dialogue gets increasingly more suggestive until the very end where it is outright explicit. Now let me just say, do not let this be a deciding factor in whether or not to see this film. If this type of material offends you than there is really only one good way to enjoy any film and that is with a remote control. The above mentioned scene could easily be skipped without any loss of important information as it is a one joke scene that even the filmmakers themselves agree is somewhat pointless. A few mild expletives may tarnish the experience of some, but they are so infrequent that I believe it is not a major issue. Now interestingly enough, the film is actually quite violent with many bloody decapitations, severed limbs, and other gruesome deaths. Before you get too excited though, let me remind you that this is brutal bloody violence in a 1975 low budget British film. So it's not quite as gory as it sounds. Also most of the violence is in a comical manner. As with most comedic adventures it is sure to offend some, however, unlike a lot of modern comedies, it does not set out to be offensive, it just doesn't go out of it's way to not be offensive.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is an enjoyable movie that has entertained its fans for decades. However, not all people who have seen the movie, like it. The humor is difficult to understand for some people and there is no real point or message to it. The plot is very loosely connected making the movie look closer to a series of connected skits than an actual film, but considering some of their previous works, at least the plot actually is connected for this film. All in all, Monty Python and the Holy Grail may be the closest thing we will ever get to a perfect comedy. It certainly has it's issues, but none of them make the film any less enjoyable for me. It is a movie that warrants multiple viewings due to its rapid fire pacing of jokes and sheer comedic value. The six men that make up Monty Python are all funny individually, together they are even more funny, and this movie is the funniest they have ever been together. But that might not be saying a whole lot, if you don't appreciate their style of comedy. So if you enjoy absurdist humor, political satire, spontaneous musical numbers mixed in with a great deal of non sequiturs, then this is the movie for you. However, if you don't like weakly connected plot lines, a great deal of non sequiturs, making fun of British history, or Films That Have No Real Point Or Message; I suggest you avoid this one. In the end, Monty Python and the Holy Grail may not have been enjoyable to everyone who saw it, but in my opinion it certainly deserves all the praise it has been given.
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