Rating of
3/4
The Comedy Carries the Movie
Looneymanthegreat - wrote on 06/04/14
I love Monty Python, and The Holy Grail was my first introduction to the comedy troop. Their comedy is insane, and their ideas are bizarre, and that’s a large part of the reason their TV Show and movies are remembered with such fondness. The Holy Grail is a perfect exemplification of their odd sense of humor. The movie is less a story then it is an odd series of sketches surrounding one group of characters, so while the jokes themselves are legendarily funny, the overall story suffers.
Most people know the best parts of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, even if they’ve never seen it before. The “French Kanigget,” “Bring out ya dead,” and “It’s only a flesh wound” bits are some of the most iconic moments in movie history, and for good reason; they’re funny as hell.
Even after a dozen or so viewings there is always something in this movie that will make you laugh. The Pythons are oddly brilliant in their insanity, and The Holy Grail is no exception.
The only place this move falters is the plot itself, if it can be called a plot at all. Unlike The Meaning of Life, The Holy Grail actually has a protagonist and an end goal he is trying to achieve. Yet the movie is constantly getting distracted by side things and the third act never actually arrives, just when everything is about to resolve King Arthur is arrested by the police and the movie ends.
While the jumpy nature of the narrative and the non-ending may elicit laughs from the audience, it doesn’t make for an interesting story beyond the comedy.
The comedy however is more then enough to sustain Monty Python and the Holy Grail for multiple viewings, and the plodding plotlessness of the picture honestly kind of adds to its charm. While the movie may not be the best Python film, that award goes to Life of Brian, It may be the most memorable, and it’s definitely the funniest. It's worth a watch for anybody who loves to laugh.
