Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a filmed performance of a comic oratorio built on the story told in Monty Python's Life Brian. Mandy is left pregnant by a Roman soldier and gives birth to Brian, who grows into a reluctant member of the People's Front of Judea. He falls for Judith, is taken for a messiah, and ends up arrested and sentenced to crucifixion by the Romans. The music ranges across Handel, a Mozart duet, a carol festival and Bob Dylan, closing with the song about always looking on the bright side of life.

Eric Idle and John Du Prez wrote the piece, which came out of their earlier Python stage work. Aubrey Powell directs the recorded performance, produced by John Goldstone. Idle appears in several roles, alongside Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Carol Cleveland, with William Ferguson as Brian and Rosalyn Plawright as Mandy. It runs 92 minutes.

Released in March 2010, the film carries a 7.1 rating on IMDb from around 1,400 votes and a 7 on TMDB from a much smaller number of votes. The two audiences agree closely, and the larger IMDb sample suggests a settled, favourable response rather than a polarised one.