Charming. Every year we pay homage to the death and reanimation of our lord Jesus Christ. Even if you're not religious, you'll most likely give or receive some form of confectionary, or if you're unlucky, something inedible but ultimately Easter-themed. If it's not some sort of amusing fluffy chicken near-embryo with googly eyes akin to any worthwhile Nintendo 64 platformer, I'm not interested. If it is, I'm interested temporarily until the novelty wears off and it become just another piece of tat for Stuart Ashen to review.
It's not all bad though, there are many things about Easter that we can enjoy and be thankful for (unless you're a selfish arse like me). Why, roast lamb alone is a reason to get out of bed, without even taking into account the chocolate and other wonders. My favourite part of Easter though, despite the obvious controversies that were raised concerning it's content being 'blasphemous', is what has been known as one of the greatest comedies of all times. That's right, my favourite part of this momentous holiday is the most celebrated of all of Montgomery Serpent's works: Life of Brian.
Most people from bally old Blighty have seen the film, or at the very least heard of it, but for the sake of our foreign friends, the basic plot follows the life of Brian (unsurprisingly), a man who is mistaken by many people to be the son of God, after posing as a prophet and philosopher to escape the Roman guards. After unwittingly performing numerous 'miracles', those following him grow in number 'til the streets are filled with his 'disciples' and 'subjects'. I shan't spoil the ending for you, but it's more in keeping with Easter than you might expect.
As I said earlier, the film attracted a great deal of controversy by being 'blasphemous'. Now, if you've seen the film, and if you were paying enough attention, you'd know that on several occasions it is quite clearly stated that Brian is NOT the Messiah, he's something else entirely. I can never understand why so many people are so offended by material that's out of their comfort zone, and it does my head in. I'm an Anglican, and as I'm sure you can guess the film does not upset me in the slightest, and I don't know anyone who has. I'm currently sat here watching the film with my parishioner grandfather who is laughing and appreciating every satirical reference, every pun and every slapstick gag*. It makes me sick to the back teeth when people complain about such fine entertainment, something that seems to be slowly fading from out screens.
So, mild rant over, a happy Easter to everyone out there in interwebsland! I hope you all manage to get through the day without choking on your confectionary.
What's your favourite part of Easter? Leave a comment below and I can pretend to be interested.
*That's a joke, not a respiratory issue
