'the meaning of life'

Several months ago The Times of Trenton carried a political cartoon in which a rather large figure representing the state (I think) was being given a small after-dinner mint by a waiter who was protesting that the mint was "wafer thin."

The actual political message of the cartoon was lost on me. I, and I imagine just about every other Monty Python fan who saw the cartoon, was too busy laughing at the allusion.

So what's everyone's favorite part of "The Meaning of Life?" I'd say one of the best scenes is where everyone dies during the dinner party because of the poisonous salmon mousse, and as they all get up to leave for the afterlife, Michael Palin's character says, "Hey, wait a minute! I didn't eat the mousse."

Both versions of childbirth (the modern world and the -- ahem! -- Third World) were hilarious, and I enjoyed the live organ donors too, but I have to admit I found Terry Jones' explosion just a little too disgusting for me. The whole restaurant sketch actually was too much. (Though I still enjoyed the reference in the Times' cartoon.)

But the chapel service at the British boarding school was classic, the scene in the World War I trenches was unforgettable, and actually much of the rest of the movie was good.

Still love the death scene. "You come in here uninvited, break our glasses and now you calmly announce that we've all died. I should like to remind you that you are a guest in this house!"