100 Movies Bucket List was a poster given to Jesse by his sister on Christmas 2019. We are committed to watching all of these movies and writing about them. We have no idea how long this will take. What even is time during the quarantine? And sometimes, these posts will include spoilers. Just a friendly warning from two friendly guys.

“Its been a rough year so far” will probably wind up being the most understated and repetitive statement of 2020. With all the uncertainty in the world and the negative impact that COVID-19 is having on all of our lives, it can be hard to keep your chin up and carry on through your normal day to day. Probably because none of this is normal and we all feel a bit powerless as we wait to see how the rest of the year is going to shape up.

Which brings me to Life of Brian. Our main character (shocking, but his name is Brian) finds himself in a variety of situations that are completely out of his control and mostly to his detriment. Just to name a few, he is mistaken as a messiah, taken on a ride in a spaceship with some aliens and ultimately finds himself condemned to die via crucifixion. Yes, there are aliens and messiahs and crucifixions all in the same movie and if that sounds absurd to you, it’s on purpose. Give the Monty Python boys their due: they don’t hold anything back and unapologetically stay true to their style of humor. Also, those set designs are on point.

Whether or not that appeals to you is going to go a long way in determining how you feel about Life of Brian, and if you agree that it should be on any 100 movie bucket list. And while it may be partially due to the times we live in, here’s one part that resonated with me:

Yes, that is Eric Idle breaking into song and convincing all his fellow doomed companions, Brian included, to always look on the bright side of life. “If life seems jolly rotten, there’s something you’ve forgotten, and that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing.” The sentiment is obvious, but it’s the execution and the people delivering it that makes it work so well. If Brian can sing and face death with a smile after the unfair hand that life dealt him, why can’t everyone else?

And for those who might object by saying, “Well, that worked then but there’s no way audiences would buy that these days,” here’s Idle performing the song again back in 2010.

Everyone in attendance sings along in unison to an absurd song from an absurd film about how absurd life really is, and that we can’t change that. But you can change your perspective and how you cope with it. I found that to be a refreshingly positive message. Life of Brian was streaming on Netflix as recently as the last few weeks, so if you’re sitting at home and feeling pretty down about the state of the world and all of your favorite events being cancelled, see if Monty Python can give you a little pick me up.

They certainly provided me with one.