[Movies] Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Hi, I'm rOckY and I'm a Monty Python fan. There, I said it.

My Monty Python fandom is probably one of my geekier traits, the sort of thing that really shouldn't apply to my age group but because of the meddling influence of my late geeky father, here I am. It's both a boon and a curse to have been introduced to this unique comedy experience so early in life and I'm sure it must have altered my development somehow. Really. Who knows, right?

As fun as the original TV series was, the Monty Python films deserve recognition of their own as creations slightly independent of the original show yet still employing the same level of witty, dry and sarcastic British humor. Oh wait, that sounds redundant, doesn't it? Tee hee.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail probably remains as the most well-known of the Python movies given it's highly unique interpretation of the classic Arthurian legend. It still covers the story of King Arthur and his noble Knights of the Round Table, but in a fashion that is uniquely Pythonesque, for lack of a better term. This was their first film composed of entirely new content, and thus became quite the hit in Python circles.

Even if you haven't seen the series, there's a decent chance you'll enjoy this movie if (a) you have any appreciation for British humor and (2) you're fairly quick on the uptake when it comes to jokes and (iii) you're capable of getting into a decent amount of silliness from time to time. These are pretty much the fundamental skills and characteristics needed to enjoy the Monty Python experience.

The movie starts off strong enough with the kinds of high quality jokes and humor that we've come to expect from Monty Python and it pretty much doesn't let up for the rest of the movie's running time. This is either a good or a bad thing since people tend to either really, really love or really, really hate Monty Python humor. For those in the latter category, don't say I didn't warn you.

I can't really describe things further than that without giving away some of the punchlines, which is definitely something I don't want to do since that would ruin the film for you. Needless to say, there still is an overall story although just like the original show, it tends to follow a sort of steam-of-consciousness approach to storytelling and there will definitely be somewhat surreal moments where you'll feel slightly lost but no less amused.

So if you're looking for a smarter alternative to your usual slapstick fare that has become standard these days when it comes to comedy films, than this is definitely the movie for you. From here, required viewing includes the entire original TV series and their other movies.