Easily one of the best and funniest things to show it’s waffer thin serialisation on British TV in a long time, Holy Flying Circus is the fantastically re-imagined story of the contested release of Life of Brian. With a cast that couldn’t be more perfect without the aid of a time machine, it brings back the brilliance of Monty Python’s Flying Circus with a slightly polished, modernistic edge.
With religious activists doing their nut in about the prospect of the release if what they saw as a blasphemous film, Live of Brian didn’t necessarily have it easy. However, the Flying Circus crew stuck to their witty guns and pressed on regardless.
Holy Flying Circus retells that story (re-imagines, quick say re-imagines. We’re not the BBC, we’re not going to get sued for slander. Yes, right… and other bad Monty Python impressions) with an apparent double dose of make believe.
The cast of the production is practically flawless with Darren Boyd playing a Basil Faulty infused John Cleese, Charles Edwards pulling off (har) Michael Pailin’s nicest man in the world to perfection, Rufus Jones as Terry Jones, Phil Nichol as Terry Gilliam, Steve Punt playing Eric Idle with uncanny likeness and Tom Fisher as Graham (he’s not the messiah!) Chapman.
However, by far the funniest moments are the scenes between Michael Palin and his manly man wife. They’re literally gold.
Holy Flying Circus is clever, judiciously weighted (managing to give the debate surrounding the release of Life of Brian the equality it should have had in the first place), wonderfully funny and quite a good reinvention of the Monty Python way of doing things. Watch it while you can on BBC iPlayer, but if you miss it somehow (you idiotic nincompoop) it’ll be out on DVD on the 9th Jan 2011.
Holy Flying Circus review: 5/5
