It's the dark ages. A monster called Jabberwocky is destroying the countryside. Dennis Cooper (Michael Palin) has lived in his small community all his life. His cooper father is on his deathbed and disowns him in a scathing rebuke. He vows to make it big in the city before returning to win over the voluptuous Griselda Fishfinger. In the city, the King offers his daughter's hand in marriage to the champion who would kill the Jabberwocky. Through a series of misadventures, Dennis comes face to face with the monster.
It's Terry Gilliam's first solo directing of a full length feature. Michael Palin leads and it has a similar setting as The Holy Grail. It's all very Python adjacent. The most notable difference is the weight of the comedy and the utter ugliness in the production. Palin provides a light touch to the comedy but otherwise, there is an aggressiveness to the gross disturbed humor. Secondly, the look is simply ugly. If rotten teeth, dirty faces, ramshackle settings, and grotesque manners are off-putting to you, this is not your movie. My main complaint is not following Palin enough. It's his story and the movie needs to be his exclusively. There are sections that follow the king, and others that aren't quite as compelling. Frankly, those sections without Palin almost lost me due to boredom. I simply don't care about those characters or maybe in reality those actors.
It's Terry Gilliam's first solo directing of a full length feature. Michael Palin leads and it has a similar setting as The Holy Grail. It's all very Python adjacent. The most notable difference is the weight of the comedy and the utter ugliness in the production. Palin provides a light touch to the comedy but otherwise, there is an aggressiveness to the gross disturbed humor. Secondly, the look is simply ugly. If rotten teeth, dirty faces, ramshackle settings, and grotesque manners are off-putting to you, this is not your movie. My main complaint is not following Palin enough. It's his story and the movie needs to be his exclusively. There are sections that follow the king, and others that aren't quite as compelling. Frankly, those sections without Palin almost lost me due to boredom. I simply don't care about those characters or maybe in reality those actors.