British humor isn’t for everyone, but growing up I was definitely a big fan of Monty Python, Benny Hill, and The Young Ones.
Monty Python was a revelation for many when they first came on the scene, their humor broke a lot of ground, and the fact that most of the Python, minus the late Graham Chapman, is back with a new movie, Absolutely Anything.
As we previously reported, Absolutely Anything is officially categorized as a sci-fi comedy. Terry Jones will be directing, while Terry Gilliam, John Cleese and Michael Palin will be voicing computer animated aliens.
It’s unclear if Eric Idle plans to return, but Robin Williams is confirmed to be participating in the project. According to Variety, Williams is slated to bring a snooty Frenchman – a favorite Python target – to life.
Monty Python was not only a big influence on countless comedians, but also played a hand in making sick and outrageous humor more acceptable in the mainstream. Peter Jackson recalled in his autobiography when he saw Monty Python’s Flying Circus with a bloody, ultra-violent, and hilarious sketch, it was a big influence on his “splat-stick” style of horror with Bad Taste and Dead Alive.
And who could forget the knight being hacked to a stump in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, “It’s just a flesh wound!,” as well as the crucifixion closing number “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” at the end of Life of Brian?
As for their latest project, producer Mike Medavoy, who was formerly an executive at United Artists, and at Orion when Python made Life of Brian, told Variety Absolutely Everything is “a classic farce. Like all projects originated by any of the Monty Phython guys, ‘Absolutely Everything’ delightfully defies a logline.”
Jones told Entertainment Weekly, “With Python, we always wanted to avoid any classification. We just wanted to surprise people, do a thing without any style. The fact that ‘Pythonesque’ is now a word in the Oxford English Dictionary shows that we’ve totally failed!”
Still, at least in my opinion, a new Pythonesque movie would still be very welcome in this day and age.
