RIP Monty Python: 1969 - 2014

Just got back from watching a live simulcast of the gang's final show at London's O2 arena. Hilarious, but also left me misty eyed. The end of an era.

 

I dunno, honestly. I know it sounds all crotchety-contrarian, but more like 1969-1989.

RIP Grey Chapman.

 

I just saw it too. Lovely opening tribute to graham chapman ...one down , five to go

 

I got a ticket to go see it at a local theatre on Aug. 6th. Glad you enjoyed it. Those sketches still kill me.

 

I had fun, but I honestly got a bit tired of all the song and dance numbers with the non-Python members. I guess that's become Eric Idle's thing these days though.

 

spoilers

I was surprised by how well the numbers worked, especially "Every Sperm Is Sacred", "I Like Chinese" and "Galaxy Song", the latter followed by the funniest new piece - and cameos - of the night.

Hey, they're seniors - takes them time to get into and out of lingerie.

Loved all the digs at Cleese scattered throughout the show, and a particularly funny one directed at Michael Palin.

 

This is true. I just couldn't help but feel like Eric Idle and John Du Prez got a little carried away. During the opening to the Blackmail sketch, I actually turned to my friend and said, "Geez, what is this, Benny Hill?"

 

Well, I kinda thought that was the idea - a big tacky gameshow of the early '70s, done today.

 

I really enjoyed it, but I had a similar feeling - I would have been happier with a few less production numbers and a few more skits (Sniveling Little Rat-Faced Git? Ken Shabby? Palin/Cleese doing Gumby?). Amazing how the old skits were still funny. The theater was nearly full where I was, it was utter adulation.

 

I just got home from seeing a simulcast and I thought it was well done. Very enjoyable. I had the same reaction of laughter with a little sadness mixed in since it was obviously a "farewell show".
----------- Chris

 

Question for those of you that saw the broadcast in a theater...How was the sound? Where I was, Hamilton, NJ, the sound was rather poor...volume down...lo-fi

 

It was pretty glitchy for the first few minutes. There was a hiccup every few seconds. I actually pulled up Twitter to see if it was happening at other theaters, and it looks like it was. Thankfully, it settled down after that.

 

It's Christies fault !

 

I wouldn't call it lo-fi, but the volume was very low, voices often muddled (especially lyrics during the big song & dance numbers), and the bottom end seemed limited and a bit tubby.

 

Oh, and we kept getting little dropouts every 5 minutes or so throughout the show. Fortunately none of them lasted very long - a second or so.

 

Most of these live movie theater simulcasts have "encore performances" that will be free of glitches. Probably worth waiting for that.

 

Had the same audio problems up in Waterbury CT where I was. Wasn't ideal, but didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the show. Looking forward to the DVD which should be perfect I'm sure.
---------- Chris

 

Oh, wow, that was everywhere? I was asking some theater staff if they noticed the audio kept dropping out during the pre-show countdown part and spilled my entire drink on my way back to my seat. Not a good start to the show. Had no idea there would be an intermission, so that was a good opportunity to get a new one.

The audio quality throughout the show was not horrible where I was, but the mix was lacking. Too much of the auditorium ambiance mixed in, making it hard to understand what was being said. The video clips seemed to be slightly lower in volume.

I was mildly disappointed at the first half of the show, but the second half delivered more to make up for it. I agree a little with many criticisms I read about the show, but I actually was completely on board for a show that traded heavily in nostalgia. They managed to work in a great number of bits I had hoped to see, though I think a lot of it was done better at the Hollywood Bowl shows (you should do the Albatross bit in the audience!). I was surprised how much "Meaning of Life" was included - they must be really proud of that (or they just had it on the brain since it was prepped for Blu-ray most recently). Almost no nods to "Holy Grail," though.

 

Same audio glitches pre-show and during the 'overture' in Atlanta. The staff was nice enough to give free passes to the entire house as compensation.

 

Now that you mention it, Holy Grail references were conspicuous in their absence. Though, from reading the credits as the reunion show ended, since Eric Idle was listed as the the main writer and director of the reunion show he probably didn't want to tread on any ground already covered by Spamalot (which was also essentially his re-interpretation of the Holy Grail). I think he envisioned the reunion performance to be in a similar vein to Spamalot - and why not since that became his big runaway hit. Also - having all the dancers and effects probably helped the overall presentation in such a big arena like the O2. Perhaps a bit showbizzy by Python standards for the die-hards, but I can see the logic. And it ended up being pretty enjoyable in the end.
---------- Chris

 

Yeah, I realized the same thing on the way home after the show. But Hollywood Bowl predated Meaning of Life, so maybe they finally wanted to do a bunch of that material on stage. It worked very well.

Idle used to annoy me and when I was younger I didn't care all that much for Jones either, but as I've grown older I've come to realize the Jones is probably the brightest of the bunch (and maybe the least-nuts) and Idle is ruthless enough and driven enough to get the others moving when they otherwise probably wouldn't. Which is probably why the whole troupe works as well as it did - they each fulfilled a crucial role, and their strengths and weaknesses played off each others...

 

Even the Stones get in on the Python Reunion fun.........this is classic!

 

Argument is my favorite sketch, so I'm glad they did that, although Terry J. just couldn't quite pull off Graham's part.

Loved the Galaxy Song cameo and the segue from Spam to....

 

I also had problems with the mix and volume levels, but minor quibbles. I too was misty at the end, and wouldn't have missed it.

 

SPOILER ALERT

I saw the movie theatre simulcast this afternoon. [Only one very brief - lasting a second - sound hiccup in the broadcast.] Apparently there are encore movie theatre presentations so if you missed it there's a still a chance to see it another day - and I presume it will be released on home video soon.

If your expectations are for nostalgic sake to see the five remaining members on a stage together, one last time [maybe], then you'll enjoy it. I found the performance in and of itself is a bit disappointing. First of all, it's the wrong type of venue for presenting a stage show in a quality manner. The O2 arena was obviously choosen for the rock show type venue that it could generate. I thought it would have been a much better idea to have selected a stage theatre in the West End for a month's run. I probably had a better seat almost 4,000 miles from London in a movie theatre than almost everyone at the O2. As mentioned above too many songs (especially from the late stages of the group's career [their weakest era]) and too much dancing - just awful. The two celebrity walk-ons fell flat - I don't think the audience actually recognized Eddie Izzard, and neither he nor Mike Myers, whom I'm guessing were suppose to ad-lib clever, funny witticisms, had much to say. The show was dominated by Idle [not certain that was the best idea] and the Python performances seemed sloppy, almost unrehearsed. Terry Jones' memory must be going with age; I thought I caught Palin forgetting his lines two or three times during the accountant/ lion tamer sketch, as did Cleese a few times through-out the show. I didn't find the re-writes/ adaptation of the old scripts to be that sharp. And the night they broadcast the performance and presumably filmed it for a home video release was probably not the best timing for Cleese's short rant about 'The Daily Mail'. For me the nostalgia value of the show only overcame the disappointments a few times.