I love Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Without the Pythons, the Beatles, and gin, Great Britain would be worthless in my book. In addition, Monty Python is the most dudefest comedy group of all time for one reason: they play both the men and the women in their movies and TV show. Their trio of films are all fantastic and THE MEANING OF LIFE has the unique distinction of being the only one that did not run out of money in the budget. This is only due to the success of THE HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN.
Both of their previous movies are better than THE MEANING OF LIFE. It has the weakest script of the three. That is not because the writing is substandard, instead the film is a series of loosely connected sketches based around William Shakespeare’s the Seven Stages of Life. That is why Meaning of Life is the most Pythonesque of their films because it most resembles their TV show.
While their show had some of their best sketches, the majority of the sketches here are not as memorable as in in HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN. There is no French Taunter or Spam. However, Eric Idle and Terry Jones knock the songs right out of the fucking park. The best song in their other films soundtracks (Always Look on the Bright Side of Life) wouldn’t even crack the top 5 of classics that appear in THE MEANING OF LIFE.
Other sources of dudefest in the film comes from the presence of a gratuitous amount of boobs, a sketch highlighting the benefits of wearing a condom, a live organ donation, and a speech from the Grim Reaper about why British people suck.