Monty Python Live (Mostly)

The mere existence of a Python reunion after all this time is worth celebrating, and I can't say it wasn't cool to see the surviving members side-by-side on that stage, but the ensuing performance left a lot to be desired. Despite all efforts to imply the opposite, this largely felt like a troupe of rusty old-timers stammering their way through the material of their youth, minus the power, sincerity and resounding cultural relevance of their heyday. I snickered with some regularity, but that was mostly due to long-term appreciation rather than of-the-moment admiration. The whole show felt too polished and jazzy, a billion-dollar spit shine that stood at-odds with the quaint, elbow-greased character I'd grown to know and love. Dozens of forced, sharply unfunny dance sets padded out each costume change - of which there were many - and seemed to annoy even the cast members, who varied in mood from ecstatic (Terry Gilliam) to barely-bothered (John Cleese). The show wheeled out all the right skits, but the funniest bits were when the actors would flub a line and go off-script to needle each other. Disappointing.

The Pythons are in their 70s, they have been one man down for 25 years and they have got back together one last time to make a lot of dosh and help pay for John Cleese's recent divorce.

The last night at the O2 was simulcast around the world and nearly live on British television, I say nearly live so for the early part of the show broadcast in the early evening, the swearing was bleeped out. The unedited version went out the next day.

So here are the remaining Pythons, older croakier and a few with forgetful memories. Terry Jones is the worse with memory issues but old age and ill health catches with us all. Eric Idle is still energetic and he gets to sing his catchy songs including looking at the brighter side of life.

Terry Gilliam known with the Pythons more for his animation and better known these days as a director and battling to raise money to make films throws himself with gusto at the sketches. As with Idle he is giving 100% commitment, his movements are just more snappier as if to tell the rest of the team that he has still got it and tell Hollywood to give him more money to make the movies that he wants to make.

Eddie Izzard and Mike Myers turn up for a spin as fan-boys and Carol Cleveland helps out with the sketches just like in the old days.

It's been a while since I have since the TV shows and I have never seen videos of their live shows such as Live from The Hollywood Bowl. To be honest I was reluctant to see this. In recent years Cleese seems to be a curmudgeon always complaining about something and even Palin in his recent travel shows has become more croakier.

However after a few minutes you get used to the older troupe and once the famous sketches and songs start to arrive you get into the spirit of the thing. There are a few ad-libs, a few forgotten lines and a little mischief here and there. The dancers make the whole thing a little more professional and although I believe that there were a few new sketches they were omitted from the uncensored repeat (I guess they will turn up as DVD extras.) We want to see the old hits. The dead parrot sketch, Spam song, Lumberjack song, Blackmail, Nudge nudge wink wink say no more.

So what if they did it for the money, it keeps the old fans happy, maybe get a younger audience and a nice pension for them

it's very hard to go wrong with these guys. they are the funniest comedy group ever! just got back from the live broadcast at my local theater and my only complaint was the sound. the echo was just awful. couldn't catch the lyrics to any of the songs that included more than one voice. wish the whole thing had been subtitled. the good news is that most of the classics are there. I was laughing out loud and clapping along with the rest of the audience. it was especially funny when the cast members messed up or laughed. I can't wait to own the DVD. I'll watch it again and again. hope they can clean up the sound though. MONTY PYTHON IS THE BEST!

Back in the early 1970s, the Monty Python troop made a wonderful film, "And Now For Something Completely Different", and it consisted of the guys remaking their best skits from their TV show for a movie audience. The production values were a bit better and their accents were deliberately softened and the overall effort is, in my opinion, their second best film (after "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"). Now a similar sort of thing has been created--but instead of shooting it in sets like you would for a typical film, it was presented in front of a live audience (like "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl") and it is, apparently, the group's final performance.

As a HUGE fan of the show, I was actually very disappointed in this film even though I did enjoy it. Much of it is due to the old saying 'you can't go back'--and after many decades the performances seemed a bit flat. Additionally, and I think this is a bigger problem, the skits offer no improvements over the originals. In most cases, it's almost a word-for-word recreation and there is nothing new or energetic about the whole affair. At least with "And Now For Something Completely Different" the skits LOOKED a lot better--but here they didn't. And, oddly, many of the team's best skits were not included in this performance. Not terrible...but it just isn't what I'd recommend to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan.

Monty Python has been in my life since my earliest years, starting around the mid 1970s, when my brothers would play their albums. In fact, by the time I saw "Life of Brian" in the theaters in 1979 (I was 12- snuck into my first R-rated film), I already had most of those albums memorized. Once I bought the "Brian" script as a paperback back at the time, I found myself having half the film memorized by the end of the year.

We in the theater all laughed at the familiar sketches, even those of us who knew them word for word, we sang along at the songs, and we applauded with the London audience. They performed some of the greatest hits, tossed in a couple of surprise sketches, mixed them up with clips from the show, and choreographed musical numbers, some of which were led by Pythons. The dance numbers were the least enjoyable for me.

Fun were the moments when you could see them just trying to make each other laugh. Especially Cleese, who seemed less interested in staying on script (though he did for the most part) than just trying to keep himself and his fellow Pythons amused. Terry Jones seemed the least active, delivering his lines a bit slower than the others. Gilliam and Idle on the other hand seemed ageless. Palin was great as well.

I don't know that I could really put this up there with the other Python films. Hollywood Bowl was superior both in content and performance, and that was inferior to their three proper films, "Grail", "Brian", and "Meaning of Life". This was more of an event than a concert or a "movie". There was a moment or two when I found myself slightly tearing up. The first was the "Universe Song" (during the song and what happens after) and again at the final bow. Seeing them waving goodbye not just to the audience but to Monty Python in general was a bit heartbreaking. It was like saying a last goodbye to a dying sibling.

Thanks for the laughs, gents... and keep looking at the bright side of life!