24. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

1975; dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones; starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
My views: 11

My mom took me to see this in a theater in the summer of 2001, before I started keeping track of the movies I watched or became obsessed with films. I had no idea that this was a cult classic or the ultimate nerd film or anything. I don't think I really got it, although I remember thinking it was quite funny. Actually the main thing I remember from that first viewing is jumping about 10 feet when a little white bunny suddenly leapt into the air and bit the head off of a knight.  I think I needed a little bit of time to think about this film after I saw it before deciding that, overall, I'd really enjoyed it. I've always liked quoting movies, and this has so many good quotable lines that I was bound to get into it.

I remember that I saw this in 2001 because that was the summer before I started sixth grade. Soon after watching this movie, I had to start attending middle school, which I was absolutely dreading. I loved my elementary school, and I was very comfortable there. The middle school was a big, daunting new place, and when I got there, I discovered to my dismay that in most of my classes, the only people from my elementary school were people I didn't know or some of the very few people I couldn't stand. I'm also incredibly introverted and hate meeting new people, so I was afraid I would never have any friends. But I met someone on the bus, and somehow we got around to discussing this movie, and that was all we needed. So I started hanging out with her group of friends. We would go around demanding each other's name, quest, and favorite color, shouting, "Ni!" and asking for shrubberies. I'm also pretty sure we all had mothers who were hamsters and fathers who smelt of elderberries.

I would love to be able to say that we remained best friends to this day and it's all because of this movie, but that's not what happened. By the end of sixth grade we had drifted apart and I'd started hanging out with different people, some of whom I am still friends with today, but none of whom had seen this movie. I don't remember if I watched it again in 2001 or 2002, but once I started keeping track I didn't watch it until 2005. I understood a lot of the humor better as a 15-year-old than I did as an 11-year old, and I've continued to watch it as often as possible, whenever I need cheering up or am in the mood for something fun. The humor is just so perfect I can't get over it. But I think at least some of my love for this movie comes from the fact that I was able to use it to make friends in sixth grade. And, of course, this movie is so popular and quotable that I've been able to connect with several other people on the basis of references to it. I think it's helped me realize the extent to which bonding over movies is possible, which is something I still exploit whenever possible. When I have to participate in one of those awful icebreakers where you have to say something interesting about yourself, I usually bring up movies. I hate small talk, so it's usually difficult for me to get to know new people, but if you've seen a movie I like I'll talk to you about it for days. This movie was one of the first to help me realize this, and I've never forgotten that.