I've been a Python fan for a very long time - buying their comedy albums on vinyl before their "Flying Circus" show ever aired in the U.S. I have the entire "Flying Circus" series and every one of their films on DVD. And when I heard "Holy Flying Circus" was coming out, I anticipated a totally different film than what I ended up seeing.
When "Life of Brian" premiered, I was managing a theater in Portland, Oregon. Two of my snack bar workers (sisters) were members of a fundamentalist Christian sect. And before the film had even been released (so they could personally judge its worth), they both refused to work as long as the theater was showing the film. I tried very hard to explain to them that this film was NOT meant as a satire on Jesus Christ himself - but was, instead, meant as a satire on the times in which Jesus lived. But, their minds were already made up.
Out of respect for their feelings on the matter (though I disagreed with them), I did not fire them - choosing instead to hire temporary replacement workers until the film ended its run.
To sum this film up in a word, it was "unfunny." But it was an unfunny film that was trying to be funny. As it happens, I was hoping for an unfunny film that was unfunny on purpose - a film that seriously explored the ordeal the Pythons had to go through as a result of the film's reception by fundamentalist Christians.
Now ... I suspect the actors in this film were trying to offer a tribute to the Pythons by imitating their style. And as the old saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." But I found it unsettling considering the real-life pressure (ie., death threats, effigy burnings, etc.) the Pythons were under during this time (not to mention certain theater managers).
When "Life of Brian" premiered, I was managing a theater in Portland, Oregon. Two of my snack bar workers (sisters) were members of a fundamentalist Christian sect. And before the film had even been released (so they could personally judge its worth), they both refused to work as long as the theater was showing the film. I tried very hard to explain to them that this film was NOT meant as a satire on Jesus Christ himself - but was, instead, meant as a satire on the times in which Jesus lived. But, their minds were already made up.
Out of respect for their feelings on the matter (though I disagreed with them), I did not fire them - choosing instead to hire temporary replacement workers until the film ended its run.
To sum this film up in a word, it was "unfunny." But it was an unfunny film that was trying to be funny. As it happens, I was hoping for an unfunny film that was unfunny on purpose - a film that seriously explored the ordeal the Pythons had to go through as a result of the film's reception by fundamentalist Christians.
Now ... I suspect the actors in this film were trying to offer a tribute to the Pythons by imitating their style. And as the old saying goes, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." But I found it unsettling considering the real-life pressure (ie., death threats, effigy burnings, etc.) the Pythons were under during this time (not to mention certain theater managers).