30 Days of Film - Day Two
Day 02 - Most underrated film
This was a toughy. Lots of films that I think are underrated. Most of them fit into other categories, so I'll talk about them there. So today I go with
The Meaning of Life (1983)
This may seem an odd choice, as Monty Python films are generally regarded as being some of the best comedy films around. But everyone always talks about Holy Grail or Life of Brian. Poor old Meaning of Life never gets a look in.
It is a lot more surreal than the other films, harking back more to the feel of the series. There are so many good things about the film: The Crimson Permanent Assurance, The Machine That Goes Ping, Every Sperm Is Sacred, The Galaxy Song, Death visiting the dinner party, the wonderfully surreal "fishee" thing.
I admit that it has it's flaws, and there are parts of it that I just don't need to see. For example, John Cleese and sex are two things that my brain does not need to have in anything approaching proximity, but it is still a very funny film, with some brilliant dialogue.
Most people know large chunks of Holy Grail or Life of Brian. But Meaning of Life? Not so much. And yet there is the thing about people wearing hats and organ donation and too many things to mention. A quick quote:
Chaplain: Let us praise God. O Lord...
Congregation: O Lord...
Chaplain: ...Ooh, You are so big...
Congregation: ...ooh, You are so big...
Chaplain: ...So absolutely huge.
Congregation: ...So absolutely huge.
Chaplain: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.
Congregation: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.
Chaplain: Forgive us, O Lord, for this, our dreadful toadying, and...
Congregation: And barefaced flattery.
Chaplain: But You are so strong and, well, just so super.
Congregation: Fantastic.
Humphrey: Amen.
Congregation: Amen.
Monty Python at it's best - ripping the piss out of any and every institution it can lay it's hands on.
So anyway, that is why it's my pick for underrated film - when other Monty Python films are revered with a sometimes disturbing intensity, Meaning of Life gets forgotten.
Other films in the running were:
Bright Young Things (2003)
Proof (2005)
Moonlight Mile (2002)
Tuff Turf (1985)
The Losers (2010)
Secretary (2002)
This was a toughy. Lots of films that I think are underrated. Most of them fit into other categories, so I'll talk about them there. So today I go with
The Meaning of Life (1983)
This may seem an odd choice, as Monty Python films are generally regarded as being some of the best comedy films around. But everyone always talks about Holy Grail or Life of Brian. Poor old Meaning of Life never gets a look in.
It is a lot more surreal than the other films, harking back more to the feel of the series. There are so many good things about the film: The Crimson Permanent Assurance, The Machine That Goes Ping, Every Sperm Is Sacred, The Galaxy Song, Death visiting the dinner party, the wonderfully surreal "fishee" thing.
I admit that it has it's flaws, and there are parts of it that I just don't need to see. For example, John Cleese and sex are two things that my brain does not need to have in anything approaching proximity, but it is still a very funny film, with some brilliant dialogue.
Most people know large chunks of Holy Grail or Life of Brian. But Meaning of Life? Not so much. And yet there is the thing about people wearing hats and organ donation and too many things to mention. A quick quote:
Chaplain: Let us praise God. O Lord...
Congregation: O Lord...
Chaplain: ...Ooh, You are so big...
Congregation: ...ooh, You are so big...
Chaplain: ...So absolutely huge.
Congregation: ...So absolutely huge.
Chaplain: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.
Congregation: Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You.
Chaplain: Forgive us, O Lord, for this, our dreadful toadying, and...
Congregation: And barefaced flattery.
Chaplain: But You are so strong and, well, just so super.
Congregation: Fantastic.
Humphrey: Amen.
Congregation: Amen.
Monty Python at it's best - ripping the piss out of any and every institution it can lay it's hands on.
So anyway, that is why it's my pick for underrated film - when other Monty Python films are revered with a sometimes disturbing intensity, Meaning of Life gets forgotten.
Other films in the running were:
Bright Young Things (2003)
Proof (2005)
Moonlight Mile (2002)
Tuff Turf (1985)
The Losers (2010)
Secretary (2002)