Terry Jones directs Graham Chapman, Michael Palin and John Cleese in this spoof of biblical epics following the man born in the manger next to Jesus. 

Not my favourite Python, lacking the hilarity of The Holy Grail and the uncontainable scale of The Meaning of Life. I smile knowingly whenever I watch Life of Brian yet it rarely gets me laughing. I don’t think it has anything to do with me being raised a Catholic, the humor is just a bit too obvious yet somehow snobbish. The live action Christmas Card opening sequence, in which Brian is born in a manger next door to Joseph and Mary’s, is very beautiful until John Cleese in black face arrives (trans sensitive people also be aware, there’s stuff that’s “of its time” for you too) and the credit sequence has a satisfying Bondian excess. Terry Gilliam’s fingerprints are embedded deep into these moments unsurprisingly. And the classic closing musical number of “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life,” sung by a chorus of crucified chaps is a pleasing topper to a joke that long ran its course 30 minutes earlier. The production values are higher than most comedies, and there is an irascibility to the amount of targets the Oxbridge players takes wild shots at. In fact, the movie works better as a satire on political movements and rebellions, rather than the Jesus story. Palin’s conciliatory and sympathetic crucifixion administrator is the highlight in the cast.

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