Life of Brian

The whole movie takes place during 33 AD and opens with what appears to be Jesus in a manger. We soon discover that it is not Jesus, but a boy named Brian.  It will appear from the very beginning that Brian will live in the shadow of Jesus his whole life.

Within the first twenty minutes, the movie pokes fun at some very touchy subjects for a lot of people, including rape.  Whether rape should ever be used in a joking manner is a very controversial subject topic.  However, in the life of Brian the placement and the timing of the joke is used in such a way that it does not describe the horrific event, but instead implies that the victim eventually gives consent and reminisces that she enjoyed the experience.  Is this in bad taste? Well, looking at the entire movie as a whole, the movie does not hold anything back and pulls no punches on plenty of other controversial topics. This movie is not intended to be watched by the feint of heart, but everything that is experienced in this movie should be taken with a grain of salt.

One of the most comedic moments in the movie is when the roman soldier gives Brian a grammar lesson on the graffiti.  The roman guard is about to kill him for what he is writing, not because of the meaning of what he is writing, but because he is not using the correct conjugation of the words he is writing on the walls. After a short, but forceful grammar lesson, the soldier does not kill Brian for what he has written on the walls, but instead tells him to write it one hundred times so that Brian can correctly learn to use the proper grammar.  Immediately after that scene is a showcase of irony at its finest.  They intend to give Pilot demands that he cannot possibly fill.  They threaten to kill his wife if he does not meet their demands, which include that they will not submit to blackmail. They are doing to Pilot exactly what they just expressed that they did not want to happen to them. This is a perfect example of the play on words that occurs throughout the entire movie.

Probably my favorite scene in the whole movie was the bit about the two factions there to kidnap Pilot’s wife at the same time.  I found this incredibly hilarious because they want the same things, but refuse to work together and instead of accomplishing their joint goals against a common enemy, they kill each other and end up dying for nothing.  

The entire movie is based off of the hilarity of stupid decisions on everyone’s part through out.  From stupid decisions to stupid remarks and gestures, the movie brings a different kind of humor than we have yet to see from any of the previous movies discussed on the blog.  Whether it is in bad taste or not, “Life of Brian” brings a completely different aspect of humor than seen in “Modern Times” or “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?”.