Before seeing A Liars Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Pythons Graham Chapman, I knew some facts and details about performer Chapmans working relationship with the comedy group. (Chapman died of cancer in 1989.) He was usually described as an alcoholic, gay, and a brilliant comedian and writerwhen he wasnt distracted by his drinkingwho was surrounded by the cult of celebrity even though he was an outsider.
Fodder for a movie? You bet. But not just any old movie, oh, good heavens, no. This work, co-directed by Python-alumni Terry Jones son Bill, takes on the Python aestheticsorta. Its a freewheeling look at Chapmans life, told through voice-over narration by Chapman (who recorded audio for his autobiography), with more than a dozen different animation styles. Take your pick: there is stop-motion, bad CGI, or computer-animation made to look like hand drawn.
This might be the films draw, but its also an issue. Some of the animation is pleasurable and cool to look at, even endearing in its crudeness: a group of monkeys made up to look and sound like Monty Python (minus Eric Idle, who isnt a part of the film). But such a mix and match of styles doesnt always pay off, not when one style seems to be working before the film jarringly cuts to another. To get a sense of it, make sure to watch the trailer, which gives a good indication as to what the filmmakers intend: total madness.
Except its still a biopic, and only somewhat captivating. Chapman was born to traditionally aloof parents, the kind that, in one very funny scene, spend their vacation arguing in a car about what fish to buy. Not too far into his adolescence, he discovered that he favored boys to girls, figuring out the percentage based on watching people (about 30 percent girls and 70 percent boys). And for much of his life he had a boyfriendwhen Chapman wasnt off sleeping with almost any woman that came his way once he was famous.
He went to Cambridge and got into comedy with John Cleese, the first (future) Python he met. One of the highlights is when Chapman and Cleese, hired by David Frost for The Frost Report, go off to Spain to write, but they spend most of their time on a bicycle built for two, putting off their assignment to procrastinate, drink, and take in Spanish sights. This sequence, animated in a wonderful, not-quite-but-almost Terry Gilliam cut-out animation, is filled with such dry humor that one wishes the film had more of it.
How exactly Chapman got off drinking, if ever, is kind of brushed over as the story covers his rise as a celebrity and his problems hobnobbing with other stars that he talks about in a therapy session (not with Freud, though he does pop up. Freud is voiced by Cameron Diazcause why not?). Despite the myriad of inconsistent animation, A Liars Autobiography is funny, candid, and even heart-warming when Chapman speaks fondly about his true love, David (who has a fairly prominent role ), but a little more about Python and less erratic animation would have made it fantastic.
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