Serious question, I have attempted to watch this film, hailed by many as the greatest comedy ever. But after half an hour with no laughs and literally cringing at every scene I just can't take it any more and turn it off.
The real question is, am I missing something? The so called comedy in this film just seems outrageously stupid and I just can't seem find myself enjoying it. Maybe its a generation thing?
"Get away from her, you bitch!"
With all respect - maybe you are missing something indeed. It could be also a generation thing, but I doubt it. Rarely I have seen a film that deals in such a hilarious way with the stupidity, anger, fear, sense of tradition of human beings (which is what this movie is about - not Christ or God, for that matter!) These things never change. It is very british, very smart, very edgy, even angry and totally crazy.
Watch it again, watch it from the beginning to the end - you may be surprised.
I find that anytime a thread is started on IMDB when someone says "Explain why this is so scary/funny" it's always a rousing success
shareI'm not going to start a thread on a film in the bottom hundred and ask why its funny. I ask why it's funny because it is such a successful movie and I have tried and failed to find it funny, hence the question.
"Get away from her, you bitch!"
I don't mean to be rude but you certainly have to have a decent education to understand and appreciate satirical story telling.
Maybe they should remake it about a bunch of college students who go back in time in the search of Christ and include lots of dick jokes and pussy jokes said by women.
Yeah, I didn't find Life of Brian at all scary...
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The main reason that Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live
I think you might be mistaken about the genre of this film. Why would you expect to find it scary?
shareYou know you're in trouble when you have to explain your joke, but here goes...
I find that anytime a thread is started on IMDB when someone says "Explain why this is so scary/funny" it's always a rousing success
Yeah, I didn't find Life of Brian at all scary...
I think you might be mistaken about the genre of this film. Why would you expect to find it scary?
You see that a lot with Coen Brothers films, when people go expecting something else, perhaps something like the last Coen Brothers film they say. The last thing you can expect from them as filmmakers is to give you what you expect. People were complaining about A Serious Man, which I loved, that it wasn't funny.
People hungry for the voice of god
Hear lunatics and liars
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You're a moron. You were replying to a comment about movies in general that had nothing to do with Life of Brian.
Sometimes when you have to explain a joke it's because it was stupid.
It's a very dry humor, for one; very different than comedies today. Personally, I like the movie so much because I was raised in a very religious household and a lot of the humor is from people acting like idiots within those bounds.
Don't disillusion my contempt. It's all I have left.
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"If the surreality and silliness of Monty Python doesn't tickle the old funny bone, you can always just appreciate the cleverly scripted satire, and the ingenuity..."
But this wasn't a worthy effort by the Python Boys. The script felt padded, as if it was originally too short for the film's running time. This may be why there are so many time-wasting shouting matches; overlong, overdone dialogue that tries too hard to be funny; and redundant, unfunny scenes involving (say) the People's Front of Judea and the Brian Haggling scene. The lines, too, are often embarrassing ("Behold the Holy Gourd of Jerusalem"); and the gratuitous full frontals of Brian and Judith are adolescent in the extreme.
Of course, the film does have classic MP bits:
Blessed are the cheesemakers
The Stoning Ladies bit
The Centurian corrects Brian's Latin bit
The Star Wars bit
The Pilate "thwow him to the flow" and "What is so funny about the name 'Biggus Dickus'?"/giggling centurions bit
The Pilate and Biggus Dickus interractions
The Pilate and Biggus Dickus crowd bit
But none of these can elevate the film over a "B" grade. The Holy Grail was an "A" film. So should Brian have been, but in general it lacks the stamina and drive of Holy Grail.
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If you think that 'Life of Brian' is padded and 'Holy Grail' is not, then you don't know the first thing about screenwriting or padding a script.
shareWhat's more, they don't know the first thing about "The Holy Grail" since they ACTUALLY padded the script.
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Rancorr Blackmane, Freeblade.
If you don't get it then you don't get it. Simple, really. You're missing the kind of sense of humour that would enable you to find this funny.
Thats all there is to it, really. Not so difficult to suss out.
Also, the idea that its a "generational thing" is kind of silly. Some comedy does date, but generally people have been laughing at the same things for the last 6000 years. I can guarantee you that whatever the cutting edge of comedy is today is just a re-tread. We have concepts of generation gaps instilled into us by huge multi-nationals so they can flog old *beep* to new kids, but people have always just been people.
This film was on TV yesterday and I watched about hour of it. Then I just couldn't take no more. I think I'm also missing something. I know that this is a film that should be funny and well done, but... I don't find those sides. And I like british humour and films in general!
share"Why do people hate America?"
"Palestine, Vietnam and Chevy Chase films."
(Steven Fry).
(Contains mild spoilers)
I saw this movie when it came out so haven't seen it in decades. I do remember something about it though.
It's a combination of those ridiculous Brit comics running around in the "Holy Land" with their ridiculous Brit accents doing these ridiculous religious things that have definite connections with reality, both present and historical. (I am a firm believer in the Creator God of the Bible btw.)
I remember with fondness the guy who utters a blasphemy and the Jewish onlookers pelt him with a few pebbles. He says another and gets a bigger shower of bigger rocks. He next gets a pelting with even bigger rocks, some of them gotta hurt. Nobody in their right mind would say more, but he lets one more bigger blasphemy go and the next scene is his hand and foot sticking out from under a huge boulder. C'mon what could be funnier? If you've never noticed, or cared to notice, idiots in the face of religious zealots, you may not think this is humorous at all.
How about the Roman centurion who was offended by the poor Latin grammar in the graffiti on the wall? Remind you of the grammar and spelling Nazis in the forums? haha
This movie may, in fact, have some of the best humor ever, better than the more popular Holy Grail movie imo.
So, no connection with God plus no appreciation for religious history (and the present news, like those zealots in Iran who presently want to stone that woman, maybe she deserves it I don't know) equals no appreciation for this kind of humor. Simple as that.
I know it’s old post. But I agree.
sharePerhaps the problem is the cringing? Yes, yes, I'm quite sure; stop the cringing and you will enjoy the film much more. In fact the only truly cringeworthy part is when the alien creatures sweep in from the sky in their galactic hot rod, which is apparently how these lads are accustomed to solving a plot impasse. Back to screenwriters workshop, boys.
shareI just recently got around to watching this film, and even as a big Monty Python fan I agree that it wasn't really up to my expectations. I think a big part of it may be that watching it now, decades after it was originally released, I'm just used to this kind of humor that pokes fun at religious hypocrisy and uninformed fanaticism and things like that. It was probably more new and cutting-edge at the time, but in the following years there has been plenty of time for people to take inspiration from it and do similar things that are great in their own right. This of course isn't the film's fault, and there were a few things that gave me a good chuckle, but overall I didn't feel like it was as much an enduring classic as Holy Grail or Meaning of Life (although I know a significant number would disagree on the latter).
"You people voted for Hubert Humphrey! And you killed Jesus!"
Mr. Heart Attack, I think you really hit your head on the nail (or however you say it in English), I think that's why I didn't appreciate it as much as Holy Grail, it just hasn't aged as well because the story centers around subjects that we, today, speak of daily (at least I do.) I still think it had its funny moments, and I found the general feel of the movie funny. It just hasn't aged well, which is why I think I didn't find it all that funny.
Man, I was born to late, wasn't I?
You're probably a stupid teenager and only understand 'Scary movie' humor. Don't worry about it and try again in 10 years or so.
shareI'm a huge fan of LoB, and anything else done by MP so you're going to have to find a better way to insult me, but the OP wasn't rude about the film and a reply like this shows not just ignorance but also a total lack of class. So well done on writing something in the league of 'Scary Movie' humour.
share25, and no my sense of humour is certainly not scary movie. I prefer standup to comedy films. But when a film hailed as one of the greatest comedies ever made, fails to tickle my funny bone I'm left feeling like i'm missing something and hence the thread in the first place.
For reference my top 5 comedy films are: Dr. Strangelove, Some Like It Hot, Amelie, Blazing Saddles and, The Breakfast Club.
So try again loser.
"Get away from her, you bitch!"
[deleted]
Three of those movies are not funny (though good movies). And the argument that 'Life of Brian' is dated but 'Dr. Strangelove' is not is pretty severely flawed. As for 'Blazing Saddles', I still don't think you understand screenwriting, to suggest that 'Brian' is padded but a movie where the last fifteen minutes completely abandons the actual movie you've been watching is not padded.
shareThe OP, who you are responding to here, was not the person who thought the script was padded. The OP never said anything like that.
"Is it bright where you are? Have the people changed? Does it make you happy you're so strange?"
Its interesting reading through this thread nearly all those who say they "didnt get it/ find it funny" also pointed out that they are different from everybody else.
It seems that some peoples desire to stand out as someone different and be a unique personality overrides their ability to appreciate great humor/comedic writing and acting. Its almost as if they watch it determined NOT to like it so they will be different from everyone else.
Perhaps they should have watched right thru to the "youre all different/ we're all different (I'm not)" scene - there may have beena message in their for them.
Btw - I am a unique and different personality - who like millions of others thinks this is the best comedy film ever made.
don't call me shirley
I think what people who say this are really trying to say is 'don't group me with people who like bad movies like Scary Movie as someone else suggested'. It's because too many people who love these types of films think something is wrong or not understood when people dislike these movies. I am one of those who thought this was really boring and could barely get through it and barely managed a smirk. The end song was enjoyable but that's about it. I understand the movies message and jokes, they simply do not appeal to me. It's not about being a different individual, it's about disliking a generally well loved movie and not being looked down on for disagreeing with the majority. The snobs are those who can't understand this, NOT those who dislike this movie.
shareHey there AlienFanboy, you just have a *different* sense of humour to those of us who appreciate Python.
S'all good.
Are you missing something? Well, personally I think you are missing *out* on something but that's just my opinion. It's a shame you don't get it cos it's wonderfully, funny and absurd stuff. I think the Pythons are (please insert the plural for genius).
Your list of top 5 comedies, generally, leaves me cold. All cute and amusing films (with the exception of Strangelove's 'rogue arm' scene which I found fall-on-the-floor hilarious).
So, it's all a matter of taste.
I was introduced to Python by my three older brothers when I was a little girl. At first, of course I didn't understand it (prob cos I was only about 8 or 9 at the time) but I was indoctrinated I suppose.
And for that, I consider myself very lucky :)
Python humor was always different to the mainstream. It takes getting used to.
I do remember thinking that Life of Brian was very understated on first viewing, like a lot of Pythonesque work there doesn't seem to be a lot happening to hold your attention. These days I appreciate the clever satire a lot more.
Dr. Strangelove, Some Like It Hot, Amelie, Blazing Saddles and, The Breakfast Club.that's a good list. Amelie is a great movie, but I've never (until now) looked at it as a comedy. Nor The Breakfast Club for that matter.
Must chime in and say that that's a silly response. I don't think I've ever watched a Scary Movie in its entirety myself but some of the sequences I've seen have been quite funny.
Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.
Sense of humor is a way of life look when people reach the edge, carefully look down, turn around and walk away.
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I've been vandalized by Elvis! -Ernest, Ernest Goes to Jail (1990)