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[[File:Monty_Python_meaning_of_life_158.jpg|frame]]
 
'''''[[Monty Python (Creator)|Monty Python]]'s The Meaning of Life''''' arrived in 1983 as the last hurrah of the complete six-man troupe, directed by Terry Jones. The film marked the troupe's return to sketch-based comedy after two films that followed a linear plot. The film's sketches are loosely connected and arranged by the stages of human life.
 
The movie opens with the unrelated [[Terry Gilliam (Creator)|Terry Gilliam]]-directed short film "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the tale of accountant pirates who take on Wall Street. From there, we move on to the film proper, a series of sketches purporting to examine the Meaning of Life, arranged from "The Miracle of Birth" to "Death". But even this structure allows for stops examining "The Third World" and "Live Organ Transplants".
 
This is notable as ''by far'' the grossest of the Python films, via such highlights as the aforementioned "Live Organ Transplants" sketch and the restaurant scene featuring Mr. Creosote. That didn't stop it from receiving the Grand Prize of the Jury award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, however.
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* [[Animated Credits Opening]]
* [[Audience Participation]]: We are invited to "Find the Fish" at The Middle of the Film.
* [[Back for Thethe Finale]]: The "Christmas in Heaven" song.
* [[Badass Grandpa]]: The entire "crew" of the Crimson Permanent Assurance.
* [[Bad Liar]] / [[Blatant Lies]]: [[Sarcasm Mode|Oddly enough]], the two men dressed as a tiger have difficulty convincing anyone of their various stories about a) why they're dressed as a tiger and b) why they definitely ''didn't'' steal an officer's leg and run away with it.
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{{quote| '''Grim Reaper:''' [I have come to] take you away. That is my purpose. I am Death.<br />
'''Host:''' Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the whole evening, hasn't it?<br />
'''[[Terry Gilliam (Creator)|Howard]]:''' I don't see it that way, Geoff. Let me tell you what I think we're dealing with here: a potentially positive learning experience to get an--<br />
'''Grim Reaper:''' Shut up! Shut up, you American. [[Lampshade Hanging|You always talk, you Americans.]] You talk and you talk and say "let me tell you something" and "I just wanna say this". Well, you're dead now, so shut up! }}
** French: The comically-accented maître d' and waiter in the "Mr. Creosote" sketch and its aftermath.
{{quote| '''Maître d':''' Anozzer bucket for monsieur... ''(Creosote vomits on his leg)'' and perhaps -- a khhhhose.}}
* [[Gainaxing]]: The women in the bit mentioned under [[How Would You Like to Die?]] below.
* [[Greek Chorus]]: The fish in the tank.
* [[The Grim Reaper]]
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* [[High-Class Glass]]: Livingstone (Graham Chapman), the military surgeon, uses a monocle in the Anglo-Zulu War sketch.
* [[Hostile Show Takeover]]: The Crimson Permanent Assurance attempts to do this towards the end of the "Live Organ Transplants" chapter.
* [[How Would You Like to Die?]]: A condemned criminal chooses to be chased off a cliff by a crowd of topless, helmeted women. Conveniently, he falls right into his coffin at the funeral already in progress.
* [[Humans Are Morons]]: As if the last line of "The Galaxy Song" doesn't make it clear enough,
{{quote| "Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's [[Stock British Phrases|bugger all]] down here on Earth."}}
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* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: Graham Chapman's character is chased off a cliff by a group of topless women for sexism in a motion picture.
* [[Jabba Table Manners]]: Mr. Creosote
* [[Leitmotif]]: The evil, ''[[Jaws (Filmfilm)|Jaws]]''-style string theme that accompanies Mr. Creosote's entrance and recurs right before he explodes.
* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: "Every Sperm Is Sacred". A cheery, [[Ear Worm]]-y song about [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|sperm]].
* [[Major Injury Underreaction]]: A British army officer has a rather blasé attitude about waking up with a leg missing: "Stings a bit." So does the doctor examining him:
{{quote| "Yes, well, this is nothing to worry about [...] Yes, there's a lot of it about. Probably a virus. Uh, keep warm, plenty of rest, and if you're playing football or anything, try and favor the other leg."}}
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