Book Review: Graham Crackers*

King Arthur, The Colonel, and Brian Cohen all have one thing in common. The three vastly different characters from three completely unique time periods were all brought to life by Monty Python's Graham Chapman. However, while those characters might be pure Chapman, Chapman himself wasn't simply Python. He was an actor, a writer, and a daredevil who managed to beat alcoholism and almost cancer; and while he didn't quite survive that battle, he did make it through a friendship with late Who drummer Keith Moon. This Graham, the complete Graham, is the man you meet when you read Graham Crackers: fuzzy memories, sully bits and outright lies.

Crackers, which is compiled by author and friend (Chapman’s not mine) Jim Yoakum with help from Chapman’s longtime partner David Sherlock, is a portrait of the man painted (mostly) by Chapman’s speaking tours. He speaks candidly about his time in Python as well as his battle with alcoholism and the intricate relationship the two had with each other. He recounts trips he made with the Dangerous Spots Club and how, in spite of knowing these men who would hang-glide off of volcanoes and sit in a bus on skies, he considered Moon the world’s most dangerous man. Along with the anecdotes, there are also the "silly bits," sketches that until the book’s release in 1997, had never seen the light of day.

Although the book had me laughing out loud, literally and in public, it is a very serious story of struggle and redemption that Chapman recounts with candor. When speaking about a documentary in which each member of Python was asked to speak about the remaining five, Chapman says how he was rather scared to know what his collaborators would say about him. He remembered at the end of the film all six men believed one truth, "I know you. I know your good points; I know your bad points, but, the hell with all that anyway, because I like you." I truly love that description because I feel that is the truest definition of real friendship. He said that he thought that was a feeling that would always be there and, when you read the Forward by John Cleese (along with the Backward by Eric idle and Sideways by Terry Jones) that was written almost twenty years after Chapman’s death you realize how accurate that statement really was.

*This post was written on a friend's Ipod Touch while I was nearly blinded by the sun. While I did my best to Edit it, there maybe some issues I missed due to the AutoCorrect on the Ipod

DVD Review: Not the Messiah: He's A Very Naughty

Question:
What Do you get when you take Monty Python's Life of Brian, add the collaborators of Spamalot (see my review here) and throw in four members of the original comedy troupe?


Answer:


For the record, I had no idea about this one night only thing and never saw that trailer, but if I had, I assure you I would have piddled (I just saw it for the first time in fact-after seeing the actual film- and almost did.) I had, God I can't even tell you when, heard whispers that, on the heels of Spamalot's success, there would most likely be a musical version of "Brian" (my personal favorite Python film) and that the working title of the project was NOT THE MESSIAH. This didn't really surprise me as Monty Python never seems to miss an opportunity to make a few (million) dollars but I never heard anything else about it and when Spamalot left Broadway due to the ailing economy, all lingering thoughts I had about the (in my own mind) hyped followup left my mind. Because of this, you can imagine the surpirse I expierienced when I came across a DVD of it. Actually Lauren found it while we were riffling through a blowout sale at Blockbuster and promptly shoved the DVD so close to my face I couldn't actually see what exactly it was that was causing her mouth to be agape while she made very strange noises.



As has become apparent lately* I am a big fan of Monty Python so the idea of actually getting to see NOT THE MESSIAH sort of made my year day. Python is an amazing excuse to laugh until you cry and, having just lost DJ and with the accident not yet resolved, having something new from them was exactly what I needed, so while nobody piddled we did jump up and down like lottery winners while squeeking like Jonas Brothers fans we did pop it in the DVD player as soon as Ms. Baby was napping. The credit began to roll and we found out that Eric Idle starred in it and that there were guest apperances** by Michael Palin, Terry Jones (who by the way has a daughter GiGi's age, yes really,) and Terry Gilliam (who some people strangely think of as a director and not the "lumps of it" guy) I was pretty sure I had found the greatest find in all the world.



It wasn't.


Not that it wasn't good, it's just that it is an opera and I really can't take opera. The plot is good and, when not sung in that register, the songs are great. If they make it a musical I will be there opening night and for who knows how many other performances (see the comments here) but until then I'll probably stick with THE LIFE OF BRIAN. The best part of it was seeing the Pythons back on stage together (although it makes me long for a true reunion show that will most likely never happen) and they even ended with the Lumberjack sketch! Also, I feel my life has become somehow more enriched by seeing this.



So do I recommend the film to Python fans, in spite of my personal reservations, yes. I may be an uncultured "tart" because of the opera thing and that shouldn't stop anyone else from enjoying this event of a lifetime.


*Full details of how I became a fan of Python as a college Freshman can be found here. My recent resurgence, however, can be directly linked to David Cook, or rather a lack of him. Next month will mark one year since the last concert I attended and his second album still has no release date. I understand these things take time but I need something to distract me from all the nothing that is going on. It is just impossible to obsess over something that isn't there and not healthy to worry about his career as if it was my unborn child. So I did what I usually do, I went for a distraction that I knew wasn't going to make me forget DC.


**For the record John Cleese did not appear due to a previous commitment that was either his ALIMONY TOUR or his hip replacement, depending on the source you read and Graham Chapman has refused to be a part of anything to do with Python ever since his death.