The Meaning of Life

Variety by

Gross, silly, caustic, tasteless and obnoxious are all adjectives that alternately apply to Monty Python's The Meaning of Life though probably the most appropriate description would simply be funny.

Miami Herald by Bill Cosford

You will not necessarily know any more about life after the film is done, but you'll have killed a couple of hours painlessly, and you will have laughed a lot. [18 Apr 1984, p.C6]

Empire by Ian Nathan

Excessive and self-indulgent it's true but still the Pythons at their worst are still worth a look.

Entertainment Weekly by Keith Staskiewicz

It’s tough to find the meaning in much of the craziness on display here, let alone the meaning of all human existence as the title promises, but you will find a whole lot of exquisite nonsense.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

The Meaning Of Life is unsparing and elaborate in its vision of humanity at its foulest.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

A movie that seems consumed with a desire to push us too far. This movie is so far beyond good taste, and so cheerfully beyond, that we almost feel we're being One-Upped if we allow ourselves to be offended.

The New York Times by Vincent Canby

Monty Python's the Meaning of Life is funny but, being unreasonable, I wish it were funny from start to finish.