Review: Not the Messiah: He's A Very Naughty

Question:
What Do you get when you take Monty Python's Life of Brian, add the collaborators of Spamalot (see my review here) and throw in four members of the original comedy troupe?


Answer:


For the record, I had no idea about this one night only thing and never saw that trailer, but if I had, I assure you I would have piddled (I just saw it for the first time in fact-after seeing the actual film- and almost did.) I had, God I can't even tell you when, heard whispers that, on the heels of Spamalot's success, there would most likely be a musical version of "Brian" (my personal favorite Python film) and that the working title of the project was NOT THE MESSIAH. This didn't really surprise me as Monty Python never seems to miss an opportunity to make a few (million) dollars but I never heard anything else about it and when Spamalot left Broadway due to the ailing economy, all lingering thoughts I had about the (in my own mind) hyped followup left my mind. Because of this, you can imagine the surpirse I expierienced when I came across a DVD of it. Actually Lauren found it while we were riffling through a blowout sale at Blockbuster and promptly shoved the DVD so close to my face I couldn't actually see what exactly it was that was causing her mouth to be agape while she made very strange noises.



As has become apparent lately* I am a big fan of Monty Python so the idea of actually getting to see NOT THE MESSIAH sort of made my year day. Python is an amazing excuse to laugh until you cry and, having just lost DJ and with the accident not yet resolved, having something new from them was exactly what I needed, so while nobody piddled we did jump up and down like lottery winners while squeeking like Jonas Brothers fans we did pop it in the DVD player as soon as Ms. Baby was napping. The credit began to roll and we found out that Eric Idle starred in it and that there were guest apperances** by Michael Palin, Terry Jones (who by the way has a daughter GiGi's age, yes really,) and Terry Gilliam (who some people strangely think of as a director and not the "lumps of it" guy) I was pretty sure I had found the greatest find in all the world.



It wasn't.


Not that it wasn't good, it's just that it is an opera and I really can't take opera. The plot is good and, when not sung in that register, the songs are great. If they make it a musical I will be there opening night and for who knows how many other performances (see the comments here) but until then I'll probably stick with THE LIFE OF BRIAN. The best part of it was seeing the Pythons back on stage together (although it makes me long for a true reunion show that will most likely never happen) and they even ended with the Lumberjack sketch! Also, I feel my life has become somehow more enriched by seeing this.



So do I recommend the film to Python fans, in spite of my personal reservations, yes. I may be an uncultured "tart" because of the opera thing and that shouldn't stop anyone else from enjoying this event of a lifetime.


*Full details of how I became a fan of Python as a college Freshman can be found here. My recent resurgence, however, can be directly linked to David Cook, or rather a lack of him. Next month will mark one year since the last concert I attended and his second album still has no release date. I understand these things take time but I need something to distract me from all the nothing that is going on. It is just impossible to obsess over something that isn't there and not healthy to worry about his career as if it was my unborn child. So I did what I usually do, I went for a distraction that I knew wasn't going to make me forget DC.


**For the record John Cleese did not appear due to a previous commitment that was either his ALIMONY TOUR or his hip replacement, depending on the source you read and Graham Chapman has refused to be a part of anything to do with Python ever since his death.