Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
An anarchic Monty Python pageant races through birth, sex, war, aging, death, and heaven while mocking every comforting answer to existence.
Overview
A hilarious exploration of life’s biggest questions through absurdity and satire.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- anarchic
- irreverent
- surreal
- group comedy night
- late night viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film fresh, original, and highly amusingly offensive, while some considered its sketch structure uneven and its satire insufficiently coherent.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film moves through birth, growth, education, war, middle age, old age, death, and an afterlife through connected sketches.
Catholic reproduction teaching, church services, sex education, and the promise of heaven are treated with deliberate irreverence.
The extremely fat diner guest's conspicuous eating and copious vomiting form one of the film's most notorious comic sequences.
The sketch format, direct comic presentation, and transitions between staged episodes emphasize performance over conventional realism.
Films like Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, and why
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
shares anarchic british sketch comedy, irreverent satire, and surreal attacks on social conventions
The Life of Brian
shares ensemble absurdism, musical comedy, fourth-wall play, and irreverent treatment of religion and authority
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
shares episodic sketch structure, dark grotesque humor, and surreal philosophical comedy
Movie Details
- Director
- Terry Jones
- Release Date
- 1983-03-31
- Runtime
- 107 min
- Rating
- 7.3 / 10 (2188)
Cast
- Terry Gilliam
- Graham Chapman
- John Cleese
- Eric Idle
- Terry Jones
- Michael Palin
- Carol Cleveland
- Simon Jones
- Patricia Quinn
- Judy Loe
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life about?
- An anarchic Monty Python pageant races through birth, sex, war, aging, death, and heaven while mocking every comforting answer to existence.
- What is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life as moderate.
- What did critics think of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life?
- Critics broadly found the film fresh, original, and highly amusingly offensive, while some considered its sketch structure uneven and its satire insufficiently coherent.
- Which films are like Monty Python's The Meaning of Life?
- Films with a similar feel include Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Life of Brian, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
- How long is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life?
- Monty Python's The Meaning of Life runs 107 minutes.
- Where can I watch Monty Python's The Meaning of Life?
- In United States, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
