The Meaning of Life (1983)

Directors: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam

Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin

Composer: John Du Prez

Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Simon Jones, Patricia Quinn

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It took God six days to create the earth, and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up.

Plot: The Monty Python group examines the meaning and purpose of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond. 

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Yeah.

I love MP and I think I've seen everything they've done many times.  I'll even go out of my way to see what each member did outside of the group stuff.  This is a mixed bag with lots of highs and lows with little in between. The opening segment, The Crimson Permanent Assurance bit, feels like it goes on for too long but I get tickled watching it every time and I like that it comes back later in the picture from a different perspective.  It is a long bit but its brilliantly produced.  Great theme song and animation. The hospital sketch is cute but not all that funny after so many viewings.  Every Sperm Is sacred is still just as hilarious as it was when I saw it nearly thirty years ago.  The kids are adorable.  The followup bit with the couple discussing sex is great, too.  Sex Ed at school is great and the nudity is much welcome.  If only it were like this for us in school instead of those stuffy ole books.  The two war bits are OK.  Funnier in concept than in execution.  Now we're well into more than halfway into the picture where the laughs are fewer until Mr. Creosote shows up for some disgustingly hilarious fun.  After that there's the always welcome slow motion topless women chasing a man to his death.  The second half is weaker than the first half which feels deadly sometimes.  It's a beautifully shot and executed film but it's just sporadically funny.  I'm sure I laughed a lot harder in my teens in the 80s.  I still find a lot of this enjoyable but it also tends to bore me throughout.