The Life of Brian may not be the most of the Python’s films in America, but for a large portion of Europe, Life of Brian is more celebrated than Holy Grail. Unlike Holy Grail, The Life of Brian is directed by Terry Jones while Holy Grail was both Jones and Gilliam. Through this, it’s incredibly clear which parts of Holy Grail were Jones’s and which were Gilliam’s. While Terry Jones (RIP) tends to include the over-the-top comedy the audience has become so used to from the sketch show, Terry Gilliam relished in the darker elements that fuel the comedy. In Life of Brian, there is none of this. Life of Brian is an excellent example of a parody, but not in the stereotypical way. Terry Jones does this through focusing on the average human experiences. Which brings me to my big takeaway from Life of Brian, Monty Python’s humour is timeless. The original idea for the film was doing the true story of Jesus, but eventually evolved into focusing on someone who is mistaken as the messiah. While this is a very fun premise, the church did not like this. However, taking a sensitive topic as such and making a comedy out of it just makes it work that much more for a certain audience. The other strong tool they use is by not directly taking from the present time period in which Life of Brian was made. When politics or technology are jammed into these types of parodies, the comedy can only last at least a year. If you don’t believe me, watch some political SNL sketch from just a few weeks ago, and realize how it already hasn’t aged well. Life of Brian even has jokes that are ahead of its time, with the Stan to Lauretta scene. While to comedy may be some of the finest of all time, everything seems incredibly short and jumbled together. While Jones may have a better grasp on comedy, Terry Gilliam’s vision of the visual aspect is incredibly strong. Life of Brian is mostly full of bland shots that I’m sure left Gilliam shaking his head behind the camera. If this were made by any other comedy group, I don’t think Life of Brian would work. But, Monty Python has managed to make timeless comedy. The truth is, I doubt there will be another comedic force as important as Monty Python for a while. They took a huge risk when making The Life of Brian, and for the most part, it worked. 8.7/10
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