Monty Python's The Meaning of Life poster

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Film · 1h 47m · Rated R

Comedy

A brisk, darkly comic, and campy journey answers life's questions through outrageous, satirical vignettes.

Absurdist humor. A late-night trip at a brisk pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Not on a US subscription service as of Oct 28, 2026.

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life parents guide

Moderate sex and nudity, and some violence, about what an R should carry.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Some violence
Some fighting or peril.
Sex and nudity
Moderate
Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

How gory is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life?
Light gore and some violence.
What is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life rated, and is it OK for kids?
No. It is rated R, with moderate sex and nudity, and some strong language.

What is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life about?

Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

It leaves the ending open to interpretation.

Cast and crew

Directed byTerry Jones
StarringTerry Gilliam, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.