MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE Movie Review

The last of the Monty Python feature films is a strong contender for their best—most of it is truly inspired stuff. Notable among the linked sketches are a live sex enactment performed before bored schoolboys, a student-faculty rugby game that turns quite violent, and an encounter between a physician and a reluctant organ donor. The amazing—and amazingly funny—sequence in which a glutton (played by the film's director, Terry Jones) eats just one bite too many in a posh restaurant deserves its legendary status, and it's a perfect illustration of how the Pythons were able to walk that razor-thin line between silly grossness and comic brilliance. Hilarious, smart, and surprisingly touching. Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival (no kidding).

NEXT STOP … And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python's Life of Brian, The Seventh Seal

1983 (R) 107m/C GB Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Matt Frewer; D: Terry Jones; W: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin; M: John Du Prez Cannes Film Festival ‘83: Grand Jury Prize. VHS, LV, Letterbox, DVD USH, CCB, SIG