It's a GSUSy weekend

This weekend I finally got around to finishing Christopher Moore’s Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal. Not surprisingly it put me in the mood to complete the theme by renting Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The novel and the film carry a number of similarities. While the objective of each is obviously silliness, neither is without a certain degree of reverence for and nuanced understanding of the weight of human events which they chronicle.
Levi who is called Biff, lifelong friend, bodyguard and disciple to Jesus of Nazareth (whose Hebrew name translates closer to Joshua as Moore refers to him in the novel), has been raised from the dead by the Angel Raziel and brought to a hotel room in St. Louis, MO where he is to write his version of Christ’s time on Earth. Due to certain transgressions of his, Biff’s story had been written out of the established Gospels. His side of things conveniently helps to fill us in on the lost years of Jesus’ childhood and early adult years during which Biff and Joshua travel the known world in search of the three wise men who they believe will help a somewhat unsure Messiah learn the true meaning of his destiny. The journey takes the pair to Afghanistan, China, and to India. Along the way they study Yoga, Zen, and Kung-Fu, as well as befriend a Yeti. The boys eventually return to Judea and begin Joshua’s ministry. This story is familiar enough, but without Biff’s help we may not have known as much about John’s homosexuality or Thomas’s imaginary friend, or Biff and Joshua’s rivalry for the affections of Mary Magdalene. Moore’s style owes much to the aforementioned Pythons as well as to Doulglas Adams. His absurdist humor works best in his rendering of dialogue. Particular highlights that come to mind are Biff’s speculation about a possible eleventh commandment as well as the scene in which Joshua and Biff are collaborating over the beatitudes and Biff has to talk Josh out of including a “Blessed are the dumbfucks, for they shall receive a fruit basket.” While these moments are put the book down and laugh for twenty minutes funny, the gags don’t come as fast or as often as in, for example, Adams’ work. Also, there are bits that, although they seem like good ideas really just don’t work. I’m thinking of an homage to the movie Harvey (great movie by the way) which, while I can see why Moore wanted it, I can also see why an editor should have talked him out of it.
Not only does Moore channel a certain sensibility from the Pythons, he also borrows a couple of their gags. In Lamb, as well as in Brian, recently healed lame, blind, or leprous beggars complain that these miracles have deprived them of their livelihood. Also the film, like the novel, has a bit of fun with the Sermon on the Mount. “Oh he said the Meek! Blessed are the meek. That’s nice, good to see they’re finally getting something.” Life of Brian also includes some of the best satire on political factionalism ever produced as the revolutionary People’s Front of Judea seems more preoccupied with their resentment of the rival group the Judean People’s Front than they are with the ousting the Romans from Judea. Silliness is also in abundant evidence here what with Pilate’s speech impediment, the miracle of the juniper bushes, and a scene in which Brian angers a centurion, not because of the anti roman nature of the graffiti he had been caught painting but because he has failed to properly conjugate his Latin verbs. That and, of course, the closing musical number is one of the great moments in the history of cinema.
But that’s quite enough of me droning on isn’t it? If you’d like to learn more about Christianity, and some of you may have to once the Series is over, neither of these is particularly.. um.. instructive. Then again, you sure do learn a lot more than you do from Passion of the Christ.

Note, strictly for Daisy’s benefit: I was overjoyed to find that Lamb included not only a reference to carnuba wax, but also speculation upon the possibility of pluralizing the word mongoose as “mongeese,” Nutty, huh?