Last Friday we went to see John Cleese speak at a local high school. (Again with the local high school! It's so odd I've seen two famous people perform at two local high schools in the last month).

Part of the evening was showing film clips (including some Dutch commercials he did), part was a sort of interview, and part was really a lecture on spirituality. The show was a benefit for the Esalen Institute, some kind of "alternative educational center" in Big Sur.

It was rather odd to have John Cleese giving a lecture about God and religion, interspersed with clips from Life of Brian. (By the way, according to Cleese the vast majority of Britains think Life of Brian is a better movie than Holy Grail, whereas the vast majority of American prefer Holy Grail. It's certainly true for this sample size of two.)

It was a very enjoyable evening. He was very at-ease and funny just ad-libbing on stage--stories about being in a Broadway musical where he was told not to sing; being mistaken for Michael Palin; discussing the differences between American and British humor. (The difference is that the Brits spell it with a 'u'.)

We saw Eric Idle a couple of years ago when he came to San Francisco and performed various Python skits at the Warfield. I didn't find that evening nearly as fun; it was more sad, really, with Eric Idle rehashing old funny stuff. The evening with John Cleese was fresh and new and I'm glad we had the opportunity to see him.