The phrase “any publicity is good publicity” actually worked for the Monty Python when selling the film Life of Brian. After its release, Life of Brian was immediately marked as a blasphemous piece of work, promptly banned from viewing in some nations. Despite this, the film ranked as the UK’s fourth highest grossing film in 1979 and is often claimed to be one of the funniest films in history. Those who protested against the movie ironically increased its fame and popularity. One of Monty Python’s members, John Cleese, said, “They actually made me rich. I feel we should send them a crate of champagne or something.” What’s even more funny is how the reaction to the film reflected the theme Monty Python was going on about.

            Life of Brian is a comical satire set in Jerusalem during Jesus’ lifetime. The story follows Brian as he battles Romans, his own followers, the absurd human nature, and death. Some people find the film bizarre, rude, and just plain odd. The thing is, it’s meant to be. Monty Python likes showing just how weird humans can be. Life of Brian is especially clever that way: the plot, filming, and characters are so crazy you can’t take the film seriously.

            The film starts with the birth of Brian, who is accidentally given gold, frankincense, and myrrh when the Three Wise Men mistake him for Jesus (they promptly take it away when they realize their mistake). The plot then skips forward so that Brian is now an adult. There are a few short scenes containing Jesus preaching and a stoning, but the main action starts when Brian joins the People’s Front of Judea, sworn enemies of the Romans, whom their hatred for is second only to the Popular Front of Judea (who also hate the Romans). Brian is asked to complete several tasks for the People’s Front of Judea, which eventually leads to his capture by the Romans. However, he manages to escape and while running away, he gains a following of people he would rather not have. They are convinced he is the Messiah, and they start to worship him, even though he repeatedly tells them to go away (their answer was, “How shall we go away, master?”). The Romans eventually catch up with him and he is sentenced to crucifixion and so his story ends.

            While the overall plot is fairly entertaining, I think the smaller bits are what make Life of Brian genius. Take the stoning, for example. Women weren’t allowed to attend this event, so Monty Python made the entire audience a group of women wearing beards, pretending to be men. Before entering the stoning ground, Brian’s mother (who also wears a beard) and Brian stop to buy some rocks. Brain’s mother asks for two flat rocks and a packet of gravel. The gravel is put into one of those cone shaped pieces of paper, like popcorn would be. This detail likens the whole stoning to modern-day cinemas. Of course, Monty Python didn’t stop there. The over-enthusiastic female crowd start throwing the rocks before the person in charge blows the whistle. When attempting to control the crowd, the same person in charge is stoned instead of the blasphemer. To some people this might appear disturbing instead of funny, but it’s so obvious that the stones are made of rubber that you can tell Monty Python isn’t making fun of death. It’s making a valid point about mob mentality and nonsense rules (saying Jehovah) in a very exaggerated and hilarious way.

            Just like the rubber stones, the filming and effects in the movie are very make-shift. Props are noticeably fake (there was even a rubber donkey slung over the shoulder of a woman) and the whole set up gives a feeling of imaginary unreality. Instead of taking away from the film though, it adds to it; Life of Brian doesn’t need to look perfect. It’s kind of screaming in your face: this isn’t real, it’s a satire!

            Both the plot and special effects backup the characters, the most important aspect of Life of Brian. Monty Python created some amazing characters with exaggerated personalities to humorously convey their purpose. The main character, Brian, is thrown into bizarre situations, which he reacts to with confusion and surprise. He constantly wonders why people do what they do. For example, when running away from the Romans, he stops to buy a disguise from one of the street shops. The vendor insists Brian haggles for the price and won’t give it to him unless he complies. Brian, exasperated and desperate, doesn’t see the point, but ends up doing exactly what the vendor tells him to. Similarly, in another scene, Brian attempts to lose his followers by telling them they should think for themselves. The group completely misses the point, wanting rather to be guided and told what to do. The interaction between the characters is key to Monty Python’s theme.

As you can see, the film is quite interesting and indeed bizarre. The reason it’s so controversial is because it does poke fun at people. With all the religious connections and the way Brian’s followers were portrayed, religion is given a beating. During the gathering of Brian’s followers, all the followers choose to worship Brian in different ways, quite like real life. However, Brian’s followers worship him by putting their shoes on sticks, gathering shoes together, or following His Gourd (a type of vegetable). This rather absurd version ridicules religious beliefs. Added on to this, Brian’s followers always seem to misinterpret his teachings. So, yes, Life of Brian criticizes religion. It’s rude to LGBT people as well. In the People’s Front of Judea, Stan announces he wants to be a woman because he wants to have babies. Reg, the leader of the group, believes the idea is silly and Stan replies saying Reg is oppressing him. Reg answers, “I'm not oppressing you, Stan. You haven't got a womb! Where's the fetus going to gestate?! You going to keep it in a box?!” However, it is agreed that Stan can have the right to have babies, even if he can’t actually have one. Reg, maintaining his point of view, says it’s pointless and that Stan is struggling against reality. Again, Monty Python presents a social criticism, and you can see throughout the film that they highlight human absurdity.

There’s another scene in Life of Brian that’s very important. It takes place in the headquarters of the People’s Front of Judea. Reg, addressing the group exclaims about the Romans, “They bled us white, the bastards. They’ve taken everything we had. And not just from us! From our fathers, and from our father’s fathers…. And what have they ever given us in return?” Not quite getting the true purpose of the question, the group manages to come up with a whole list: aqueducts, sanitation, medicine, education, irrigation, public baths, roads, wine, and public order. And when someone mentions peace, Reg, slightly irritated, cries out “Oh, peace! Shut up!” What this little scene is trying to tell us, is how irrational human feelings are. Why do people feel, believe, or act as they do? The recurring answer to this question for Monty Python seems to be mob mentality. The stoning, the People’s Front of Judea, and even Brian’s followers all adhere to this. Life of Brian is criticizing human nature.

If this really is the theme, Monty Python isn’t targeting individuals, but rather everyone on a very grand scale. Eric Idle, part of the Monty Python group, said that they “avoided being specifically rude to specific groups.” It’s like a teacher giving only one of his/her students homework, which most would agree is mean, compared to the teacher giving everyone homework, which is totally fair (although we all wish we never had to do homework ever again). Sadly, homework or any kind of work is inevitable, just like criticism. Sometimes you just have to suck it up. Life of Brian is a very clever film; just sit back and laugh at it.