Fishing in the Discount Bin - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Rolling out Fishing in the Discount Bin once again, blogging about the movies I own and have recently rewatched so it feels as though my life has meaning.  Today, I tackled the comedy classic Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  This is in my notes at March 19, 2017.

I was feeling sick not too long ago, and using the old adage that laughter is the best medicine, I decided to grab a comedy off my movie shelf.  I went with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, because it's still a darn funny movie.

I didn't really discover Monty Python until college.  Just hanging out in the floor lounge in the dorm one night, someone had rented it and commandeered the TV to watch it.  So, or course, I watched it, too, and loved it.  Finally, after so many years, I got all the Black Knight jokes and the "Knights who say Ni" jokes.  I eventually discovered the other films, but have yet to really get into the TV series. 

Really don't know what to say about this one.  You can tell that they came from the world of sketch comedy, as there's really not much of a plot, just a bunch of medieval-flavoured comedy sketches strung together.  We have our loose plot of the Knights of the Round Table seeking the Holy Grail and that's about it.  That gives us excuses to the Knights who say Ni and the French taunters and crossing the Bridge of Death. 

It's probably one of the first comedies that really did a lot of fourth-wall-breaking and meta-jokes.  Like the bit with the coconut shells to represent them riding horses.  Apparently, back in the day on BBC radio plays, that's what they'd do to create the sound of hooves.  Or when the princess of Castle Anthrax starts critiquing her performance, resulting in people in later scenes in the film to interrupt and scream "Get on with it!"  And let's not forget that ending, which is one of the most beautiful, meta-endings of all time.  Police shut down filming, arrest the actor, and put their hand over the camera lens.  I heard one critic refer to it as "one of the most unsatisfying, abrupt endings ever," but dang it, I just love it. 

If I had to pick a favourite bit, I guess I'd have to go with the killer bunny and the Holy Hand Grenade.  Something about that just cracks me up constantly. 

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is one of those rare comedies that remains funny no matter how much you watch it.