SPAMALOT (?) - Alright guys let's hear it!- Page 2

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 2/15/05 at 9:23pm

From watching them, they do tend to beat a joke to death @ times. They take an idea & get their laughs. Instead of moving on they cotinue to beat the original joke into submission. Case in point is the vomiting scene in Meaning of Life. I did not consider the joke in the bit but by the time they finished it stopped being funny halfway thru it for those who bought the bit

[TGIF]

Posted: 2/15/05 at 9:27pm

What Matt said is what I have been afraid of. I will see the show myself - how can you stay away with a cast like that? But I can see *how* the show can fall on just references to the movie. I have seen the movie more recently than Matt so I think I'll be fine.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 2/15/05 at 9:35pm

Wait, now Spamalot "barely has a plot"? King Arthur gathers the Knights of the Round table, whom we are introduced to one by one. They set off on a magical quest to seek the cup used at the last supper and have many strange and mystical adventures en route.

You can see or not see the show as you wish, but the Quest for the Holy Grail by the King of the Britons is a plot line that has been celebrated for hundreds of years in every dramatic format!

[CatieElphie1]

Posted: 2/15/05 at 11:00pm

Werrrr''eee the
knight of the round table
we dance when ere we're able
we do routines
and chourus scenes
and foot woork in-pec-able!!

[DreamFlyer22]

Posted: 2/15/05 at 11:39pm

Totally agree with what's been said about British humor. It's... quite different from 'American' humor. Having recently spent three weeks in London, I can vouch for that personally.

And, ya know, what people are saying here is actually VERY similar to opinions about Monty Python in general. You either get it and LOVE it, or hate it. I've found very little middle ground and have friends on both sides of the Great Python Debate. At first I didn't understand Python, but now I'm a HUUUGE fan and can't wait to get my butt down to the city to see the show...

[apdarcey]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 1:32am

eric idle was just on the daily show and was very hilarious. he talked about spamalot nearly the whole time. i'm afraid that i've been fearing what matt said. as someone who is not into monty python i've never been excited about this musical as i fear it will only appeal to people on the "inside"

[Jon]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 6:40am

Does THE PRODUCERS only appeal to those who know the movie by heart? Does WICKED only work if you have read the book?

You know, every Monty Python fan had to see the movie for the first time at some point in their life. 30 years ago, I laughed when I saw King Arthur pretending to be riding a horse, followed by his squire clacking coconuts. I wasn't laughing because it was an "in-joke". It was brand new. I didn't need any prior knowledge of Monty Python to find the movie hystrically funny.

"I'm not dead yet!" is funny.
A killer bunny is funny.
A knight refusing to give up even after his arms and legs are chopped off is funny.
"I fart in your general direction" is funny.

It was funny the first time, and it's still funny. You don't have to be "on the inside" to get it.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/16/05 at 7:39am

I never thought of the show as filled with "in-jokes" either. They use the jokes from the film, but they are just referenceing them expecting the audience to know the joke without actually performing it. The only "in-jokes" I saw in the show at all were for those familiar with muscal theatre and the most important ones are pretty well-known to most anyone who has scene the show or the film of the show. The humor is not to everyone's tastes. I hate SNL and the type of humor in most Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, Mike Meyers, Adam Sandler, or Will Ferrell films, but apparently, most of the country loves it.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 12:51am

Saw it. Tried to get my $101.25 back.

I just don't get British humor.

[QueenMuppet]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 7:01am

You tried to get your money back after having seen the show???

Yep, that British humour is not for everyone... I LOVE IT!

QM

[Glebb]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 7:50am

I was worried that I would not enjoy it because I've never been a big Monty Python fan. There was no problem with going in a Monty Python novice. I swear I did not stop laughing the whole show.

[wildcat]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 8:59am

Has "Little Britain" hit your shores yet? Two guys playing a variety of grotesque British types, usually women or screaming queens, including Daffyd the Welsh boy..."the only gay in the village" who prides himself on that title and refuses to believe there are other gay people in the vicinity even though there are gay bars and Pride marches happening all over town! Again, it's a very acquired taste...lots of vomiting, and even a middle aged man whose mum breast feeds him in public..but some of it is quite wonderful.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 9:16am

QM, I didn't really try to get my money back. The only time I've ever asked for money back was after seeing "The Passion of the Christ" in the movie theatre. I was inspired by South Park.

[Eastwickian]

Posted: 2/17/05 at 9:50am

Just wanted to add my support to Little Britain - some of it is a little beyond the pale, but they are far outweighed by some screamingly funny characters and sketches

Somebody once outlined the main difference between successful American and British humuour: American humour tends to be about mostly successful people getting into situations (Friends, Ally McBeal (sp?), even Fraiser to a certain extent) whereas British humour tends to be about grotesque failures (The Office, Fawtly Towers, Steptoe and Son, Blackadder, Hancock). Obviously that's a blanket description and can't be applied to everything, but in my opinion our humour tends to be both more melencholic and surreal than mainstream American which could be why British shows tend to be more of a cult thing than actual hits across the pond . . .