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And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1998
Plucked from the heart of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", And Now for Something Completely Different repackages perhaps the best sketches for an unprepared audience. Launching immediately into the Python's cock-eyed world, first up is the so-called public service film on "How not to be seen". In a woodland clearing it seems that a number of people are discreetly hidden, invisible to the naked eye. Sensible folk; as soon as the narrator asks one of the ludicrously named participants to stand up he's shot down again. From here on things can only get bigger and more absurd; a fine start.

Later on a number of classic and not so classic scenes are re-visited, most spruced up with a little spit and polish. Some of these are recognised instantly, so enmeshed in popular culture that they can be welcomed like old friends. Even if you're not a Monty Python fan, the Dead Parrot skit and Lumberjack song need little introduction. Certainly there are dips in this inspired lunacy (consider the Man With A Tape Recorder Up His Nose) but even these benefit from the superb alchemy of the troupe. It is curious, however, that And Now for Something Completely Different is not more consistent; perhaps this is merely a reflection of the change in taste which has occurred over the past quarter of a century.

The most amazing realisation to emerge from And Now for Something Completely Different is just what a fusion of talent Monty Python represents; each of the principles is individually talented but together they lead each other down new avenues of inventiveness. Hence numerous sources are drawn on in a bid to cover a wide variety of comedy genres; slapstick, one-liners, sketches, visual gags, animation and more. If nothing else it's refreshing to feel such a desire to attempt new things, to push the boundaries of acceptability. It's a measure of Monty Python's impact that the sacred targets of yesteryear, pretty much anything related to the Establishment, are long gone; now scatological humour is at the fore. Is this progress?

At a deeper level, And Now for Something Completely Different is a sharp indicator of the Python's particular strengths. Even at this stage in his career John Cleese combines the grace of a crab with a poker face; the beautifully crafted lines can hardly fail in his capable hands. Similar but subtly different, Michael Palin has some of the presence of his later years; a light touch serves him well. On another plane, Terry Gilliam's animation is inventive and surreal, not so much outright funny as memorably weird. With the benefit of hindsight it is possible to pick up the signs that Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and Terry Jones are not destined for such heights of glory. This does them a disservice though; here all three are crucial assets.

There is, however, a significant assumption underlying these comments; that you "get" the Python brand of humour. Like many creations of genius, it can be viewed in two conflicting ways. On one hand the anarchic, unconnected, skewed sketches are truly unique (where else would you hear of senile delinquents?) On the other this is a mixed media mish-mash of uneven jokes, dependent solely upon your personal appreciation for such things. Only the viewer can dictate where exactly they stand upon this issue; the sole concrete statement that can be made about And Now for Something Completely Different is that it fails to deviate from the path of the Python television shows.

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