"Wouldn't that be considered, like, sacrilegious?" Sounds like someone needs to watch "Life of Brian."

British humor isn't for everyone but this movie is the gateway drug for it if there ever was one

The point of the movie is that there is no point of the movie.

The big irony, they get arrested for murdering the historian, who was killed by a knight on a horse, clearly it wasn't them. 😂😂😂

"But why do they need a shubbery?" It's Monty Python and the Holy Grail! Don't ask questions about logic! 😂

The end of the movie is a literal "Cop Out".

Fun fact, saying someone's mother was a hamster and their father smelled of elderberries were legitimate insults. Calling someone's mom a hamster meant she was a small, kept woman, or that she had a lot of babies, meaning she was "easy." Wine back then used to be made from elderberries, so it implied that the person's father was a drunk

"She's got huge.....tracks of land." is probably one of my favorite quotes from it.

Monty Python does absurdist comedy. Hope that helps 😂 They legitimately didn’t have the budget for horses (except the one ridden by the historian’s killer), so came the coconut bit Oh no no. You _must_ watch this again. You’ll be able to catch a lot more of the jokes

We NEED to see Jen and Natalie watching “Life of Brian”. Absolutely!💯

"Help! I'm being repressed! Come see the violence inherent in the system" Love the "girls watch" idea. More please.

Well, it has to be "Life of Brian" and "Meaning of Life", next.

"Tis' but a Scratch.” 😂😂😂

Best review line: "The fake horses sometimes made me laugh and at other times filled me with rage." Holden will probably fill you in, but Monty Python was a comedy troupe that did a bunch of sketches on the Monty Python and the Flying Circus that used to air on PBS. It's quite absurd, but definitely part of my childhood.

I think the best way to understand this movie is that it’s nothing but loosely stitched together sketch comedy scenes since Monty Python is a sketch comedy group. You really need to like British humor to find it peak comedy. And the police arresting everyone is how they would end some sketches for “being too silly” so it came from their show.

"I don't know any other Robin other than Batman and Robin. And he's definitely not that Robin" Bruh xD

The one obvious thing that people tend to overlook. The guy who killed the historian was riding a real horse. Therefore, the people that got arrested were innocent.

The Monty Python troup was actually broken up before the movie was made. This was a chance to get back together. In the show the Pythons played multiple characters in the show so it was natural they would play multiple characters in the movie.

Jen: "This movie has ACCENTS???!?!"

The Monty Python comedy troupe consists of: John Cleese (Sir Launcelot, the taunting Frenchman, Tim the Enchanter, the Black Knight, the newt guy, the guy who wanted to put the old man on the cart) Graham Chapman (King Arthur, the hiccuping guard, middle head of the three-headed knight, voice of God) Michael Palin (Sir Galahad, Dennis the peasant, right head, King of Swamp Castle, narrator, leader of Knights who say ‘ni!’) Terry Jones (Sir Bedevere, Dennis’s mother, left head, Prince Herbert) Eric Idle (Sir Robin, the ‘Bring out your dead’ guy, the confused guard, Launcelot’s servant Concorde, Brother Maynard, Roger the Shrubber) Terry Gilliam (Arthur’s servant Patsy, the Bridge-keeper, the animator)

Sacked is the British term for fired. They were originally going to have horses but they didn't have enough money so they did the coconut thing.

For context, the comedy group Monty Python had a sketch based TV show called Monty Pythons Flying Circus before this movie. They were such a hit on BBC that they were able to do a movie . The budget was real low but as you can see they made the most of it. They were known for their absurdity based humour but were also very intelligent (they all met at Oxford and Cambridge University except for Terry Gilliam, an American who was a animator from LA who had a BA in Political Science) and could write some brilliant sketches with deep jokes. One of the best I loved was a football (soccer) match between Greek and German philosophers where the players were famous philosophers like Aristotle or Kant. The humour was in the absurdity of them playing soccer while the TV commentator is describing the play where the philosophies of that player/philosopher are used to inform the way they played. If you knew about their philosophies their actions on the screen made perfect sense since they were actually following their famous ideologies to a tee. An example in this movie is the character Denis commenting to Arthur that “Strange women distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. I mean if I tried to wield supreme executive power because some watery tart through a scimitar at me, they would lock me away.” Making fun of the Arthurian Legend (lady in the lake) while simultaneously critiquing medieval political structures. It is them quintessentially both being extremely absurd while also providing deep political commentary and satire. They go even further in their next movie Life of Brian, where they absolutely skewer Religious dogma. So much so that there was a huge controversy where the church tried to get the film banned. John Cleese and Michael Palin actually appeared on a TV talk show in Britain debating with two priests who certainly did not appreciate the satire. So as much as they are downright silly, they can also provide some real cutting commentary on class, politics and social organization.

On the plus side, if you watch it again and actually pay attention you will pick up on the other 70% of jokes you missed :)

Can confirm, they still didn’t understand the movie😂

at the 5:05 mark...it was right then he realized they weren't going to get the comedy of this movie

LOVE a special guest Edit: Several minutes in and I am a large fan of the chaos

What's funny is they did intend to have horses but they didn't have the budget so that's how they came up with the coconut joke

"I apologize for the problem. Those responsible have been sacked." I used that every time a customer had an issue that needed me, the manager. Worked like a charm.

The Black Knight has always been my favorite part. "Just a flesh wound" gets me every time.

She turned me into a Newt, but I got better.

The sheer bewilderment of the girls! 🤣

"What is a swallow" -- oh, you poor soul.

This movie is partly why D&D, LARPing, and cosplay exist. Michael Palin (Sir Gallahad, among others) was actually knighted in 2019.

The amount of times I say "Silence, foul temptress!" to people is stupid and I never get tired of it lmao

The budget in 1975 was $282K and it made $2.4 million at the box office. Adjusted for inflation in May 2024 that's a budget of $2.1 million with a box office of $17.8 million.

I've been waiting for this since the days of Matt watching starwars. One of the best comedies ever imo

This is all satirical British humor that makes fun of the establishment, and basically everything. Nothing is sacred with Python. They are known for their outlandish animation. It's their signature.

Jen did a great job hosting this episode! This was great. You should do more of this. Just guy time, and girl time videos.

My favorite "come back I'll bite your ankles off"

Trust me, this is a movie that is funnier with each viewing. My gf hated it the first time, but it's an earworm movie. You'll be thinking about it and in the near future and will want to watch it again.

I promise, it’s funnier on subsequent watches. The first time it bombards you with so much it’s almost overwhelming, especially if it’s your introduction to Monty Python. Once you’ve seen it once and know what you’re in for, it’s all laughs.

"...but why do they need a shrubbery?!" ROFL!!

For those of us who were introduced to British humor when Monty Python's Flying Circus came to PBS, the absurdist humor is exactly what you would expect from this troupe. Their show as a sketch comedy series where one skit often just blended into the next. The film is mostly a series of skits tied together with a loose storyline. Also, yes, it was low budget, and the coconuts were a joke to get around using real horses. The animation also saved a lot of money and tied together storylines without adding more scenes. The original series was also known for its ridiculous animation segments. You should absolutely check out "The Life of Brian" which has somewhat more of a storyline, and lots more sacrilege.

The dude at the French castle is my favorite! "I told them we've already got one..."

It's pretty cool seeing Jen in the Captain's chair this time

Please more "The Girls" reactions!

When you realize that the knight who killed the historian was not one of Arthur’s men because he was the only one who had an actual horse. 😀

He's called Tim the Enchanter because John Cleese forgot his line and said Tim instead and they stuck with ir because it was hilarious

After seeing so many female reactors laughing at this movie, I can tell you it's not a "bro" movie.

Love you guys so much and I don’t mean this in a mean-spirited way at all but the whole time you were asking “why” about things I was screaming “THAT’S THE JOKE!” 😂 Like with the coconuts instead of horses, the joke is just that they don’t have horses. It’s absurdist humor, you can’t ask questions you just have to go with it lol. Idk if it’s just because I’ve been watching it my entire life and because I’ve always watched a lot of British comedy but I think it’s one of the funniest movies of all time. You just have to go along for the ride! I’d be interested to see you watch it again with Holden now that you know you just have to roll with it without thinking too much into things. And it’s not just guy humor! I’m a 33-year old woman who’s loved this movie my entire life! I think it was one of the first comedies I ever watched and it really shaped my humor into what it is today. Would love to see another girls’ night with a movie that’s a little less absurd so you guys will enjoy it more!

"Look...just because some watery tart lobs a scimitar at me..." - Peasant This movie was made on a very low budget so they didn't have the money for horses. They could have just had the sound effects without the coconuts but then some might think they were riding invisible horses. So having the porter using the coconuts and then explaining how they got coconuts is much more hilarious. 😂 The budget was £229,575 or about $410,000 in 1974. Adjusted for inflation that is about $1,900,000 today. 😅 The Monty Python comedy troupe started out on a television show on the BBC called Monty Python's Flying Circus. They often used animation sequences as bridges between skits. Terry Gilliam one of their number was the animator. 😂 That's not a rabbit... it's a Vorpal Bunny 🐰 with huuuggggeee teeth! 🤯

People who haven't seen older movies are always confused by the credits being in the beginning. They also tend not to pay attention enough to understand when something is a joke.

Python had NO money for this basically. In fact, it was financed by rock stars. Believe it or not (from online) "Everett 'Collection' Eric Idle has revealed how much money rock bands and record labels contributed to financing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which came out in 1975. According to a tweet, Led Zeppelin contributed £31,500, Pink Floyd Music ponied up £21,000, and Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson put in £6,300 of his own money."

This movie is a classic! I played Dungeons and Dragons back in the 80s, and because of this movie, whenever our party was starting to get our asses kicked, we'd yell, "RUN AWAY!!" to the Dungeon Master, and we'd all laugh. The main thing you also need to understand is that Monty Python was a comedy troupe, not one single person. We grew up on their shows from the BBC, so were very used to the kind of humour used in their movies. Growing up before cable television had some advantages. We (in the US) would watch a lot of British television shows on our local Public Access channels on the UHF band. They could be a bastard to properly tune in if the signal was weak, though. Dr. Who, Benny Hill, and Monty Python were all favorites of ours, even if some of the humour was more "adult" oriented. We weren't supervised back then.... so we could get away with watching it.

I'm thinking Jen should catch "And Now For Something Completely Different" to get a quick education of Python all in one shot.

"I love a good battle run." 🤣🤣🤣

"I went ahead and pick a quote from my instagram fo..." Is the flesh wound isn't it? lmao

I so welcome this Girl's Reaction on this channel! Love it!

One of the best things about Monty Python is that the five - SIX- six cast members played multiple roles in all of their movies and in their TV show skits. Now go! Go forth and frolic in the madness and irreverency that is... PYTHON!

Part of the comedy is that it's a parody on three serious genres common on BBC/England - historical dramas and stories about King Arthur, historical documentaries with famous presenters, and police procedurals. This is a parody of all three.

They didn't have the budget for horses so just did that instead. That's making it work.

This came out when I was 17, and we went to this art house theater to see it. There was a promotion for the first hundred people in the theater. We each received a coconut.

the thing with Monty Python is that you don't need to know the history, but the more you do the funnier it is.

Never thought what it would be like for someone to watch absurdist comedy without getting absurdist comedy…but it’s hilarious! And absurd! Which is happily ironic. 😂

All I can think about is "And Gandalf the grey, and Gandalf the white, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail's Black Knight."

might be the most quotable movie ever

You have to watch this movie a number of times... there are a number of scenes where someone in the background is swinging a cat, for example. The beginning credits are a part of the movie. The Intermission is a troll on the audience as well... long movies back then sometimes had intermissions where the crowd could go get refreshments, go to the restroom, etc. So when they cut to the Intermission, some of the crowd was likely to get up and start walking out but the intermission is cut really short which caused the people who got up to have to hurry back to their seats. But yeah, this movie was HUGE in the geek/nerd subculture back in the 70s and 80s. We'd go around quoting soooo many lines from the movie.

In Germany this movie was titled “Die Ritter der Kokosnuss”, which literally means ‘The Knights of the Coconut’.

The castle used for many of these scenes was Doune Castle, the same Castle they used for Winterfell in Season 1 of Game of Thrones & has been used in countless other popular movies and TV shows including Outlander and Outlaw King.

YEAAAHHH GIRLS NIGHT 🤠

This movie is surprisingly accurate to Arthurian Myth - though in a comedic vein of course. The sword fight at the "bridge" is a reference to there being rogue knights "guarding" fords, bridges and cross roads, challenging every noble passerby. The Witch scene of course refers to the anti-witch hysteria that occasionally popped up throughout the Middle ages (and beyond). Sir Robin's Three headed knight refers to the tales of ogres, giants and other "monsters" that the Knights of the Round Table occasionally fought in their quests. Swamp Castle is a reference to the many small kingdoms that existed in the legends, and how the knights interacted with them. Sir Galahad (The Chaste) seeing the grail beacon refers to Sir Galahad (and Sir Gawain who does not feature in the movie) actually finding the Grail on their quests, but dying while praying over it shortly after finding it. Also there were several side quests in the myths that had the knights rescuing castles full of captive maidens. As others have pointed out even the insults were pretty accurate to the age (more or less) And of course the English and French were frequently at odds with each other during these times. I've been in love with this movie since it first came out and it is still one of my top three comedies of all times.

“She turned me into a newt”!! “It got bettah”….

It's a shame you didn't track the whole bit with the swallow. 1. Swallow could have carried a coconut, of course not a European swallow but an African swallow 2. When the mob brings the witch to Sir Bedevere, he is tying a coconut to a dove 3. The third question "'What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?' 'African or European swallow?'"

. If you want more another great Monty Python I suggest Monty Python Life of Brian. Other great comedies/Parodies are Airplane! 1980 ,Top Secret! 1984 and The naked gun trilogy

Re: the credits. Many people today, if they don't have much experience with films they haven't seen in first-run theaters in their lifetime, may not realize that it used to be a convention to have most or all of the credits at the beginning of the film, rather than at the end. Almost all films today have the long list of every single actor, electrician, lawyer, musician, and intern who ever worked on the film at the end- and most people walk out of the theatre before that list is complete. In earlier decades, most films had a relatively short list of the actors, director, some key film-making positions listed before the film itself started. It was just a different convention. The "Swedish" subtitles are a complete joke, of course, along with all the moose and later llamas that got themselves listed in the credits.

I will grant them this: they got the "Galahad the Chaste" set-up. So few reactors catch that, and then don't understand why he doesn't want to be, um, examined.

Great job Jen! This was hilarious to watch. Thank you so much.

the children grow up so fast,its like it was just last year!

The name "Tim" was used at the last minute because John Cleese forgot the real character's name.

The fact that so much of this "guy humor" either went right over your heads or was completely ineffective was actually really satisfying. Watching you try to rationalize it and figure it out logically was hilarious. The budget was about $320K by the way.

John Cleese, who played "Tim" actually had a complicated name that he forgot, and improvised Tim.

saw this at 6 years old tis was a funniest s i ever seen

11:01 Don't worry. They made a recreation of that castle top, and it was only 3 or 4 feet off the ground, with the camera on the ground looking up. It's all optical trickery and no critters got hurt.

John Cleese forgot the name he was supposed to say, so he called himself Tim and they just ran with it.

You and Natalie is great

The reason for the animation is that Python member Terry Gilliam (the first one to be seen banging coconuts) did the animations in their tv show.

The girls watching guy movies is now my favorite thing ever

lol, “I don’t think he looks like a Tim.” Exactly.

"It was actually not that bad"? Honestly, I don't think this kind of British humour is something for an average American - the jokes are too subtle. This film is considered to be a masterpiece among those who understand this kind of comedy.

Can’t believe you cut the witch bit out 😢

Credits often were at the beginning of a movie for such a long time... look at old Disney movies for example: they would often start with the credits and sometimes a musical montage containing hints of music you will hear properly later in the movie would play alongside it, then at the end of the movie you would often just get a "THE END" or "FIN" title and a fade to black.

Monty Python is a British comedy troupe that was founded in the late 60s and continued strong through the 70s on British television. They have done stuff since then but they are not as popular as they once were. The Python movies are comedy gold for a dedicated following. But with most British comedy, it is not everyone's "cup of tea". I read an interview of one of the writers of the movie some years later. He said the end scene with the modern cops is more or less saying the movie was so bad that everyone involved deserved to be arrested. One of the ways the movie makes fun of itself.

Guy humor is kind of a dumb thing to say. Not just in this context, but in general as well

Jen, you do know everyone has an accent. It's kinda how speaking works...although I have no idea what Natalie was doing as it's definitely not speaking. This is going to be very painful 😂

Heck yea! This is the holden & Jen Hardman channel now! It's about time she gets to host a reaction by herself!!!

Your evaluation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - "Not bad. 7 out of 10." Everyone else who has ever seen it - "Best movie of all time!!! 20 out of 10." Yes, it helps if you know who King Arthur is, and you REALLY need to understand who are Monty Python. You probably didn't notice that the same five guys played all the major parts. That was Monty Python.

This reaction is a train wreck!

It was way, way over your heads even before the Credits finished rolling. It's futile to even try explaining.

Monty Python was a comedy team that often played multiple parts in their TV show and movies.

Actual medirval manuscipts often have little drawings in them and many fart jokes. So the little bit of the cartoon with the trumpet in the butt is weirdly accurate.