THE FULL MONTY
A film review by David N. Butterworth
Copyright 1997 David N. Butterworth
Rating: *** (Maltin scale)
"It all comes off this summer" is the tag line for "The Full Monty," the latest take on how the working class of Britain's industrialized north contend with the devastating effects of economic depression.
As for Peter Cattaneo, the director of this audaciously sweet comedy, it *does* all come off: "The Fully Monty" is as big a crowd pleaser as they come, a film full of little, special moments rather than big ideas or ambitions.
"The Full Monty" opens with an authentic-looking documentary trumpeting Sheffield's burgeoning steel industry. "This is a town on the move!" warbles the enthusiastic narrator. He neglects to say in which direction, however. Twenty-five years later the factories have closed and with them the loss of thousands of jobs. Men like Gaz (Robert Carlyle, the psychotic Begbie in "Trainspotting") and his best mate Dave (Mark Addy) are two of the affected, reduced to stealing steel girders from the abandoned mills in order to make ends meet.
When they happen upon a packed-to-the-rafters nightclub hosting an appearance of the Chippendales, the Gazzer has an idea to scrape up some dosh. How about him and his mates going one better? The full monty! Or sans G-strings, as we might say over here. The only problem is they're all either overweight, over the hill, or overly ordinary.
"The Full Monty" is, essentially, a one-joke movie but it's handled with such charm and levity that the one joke is funny enough. "Brassed Off," another recent example of the genre, was distinctly lacking in charm, full of irritating characters that you didn't really care about. The unemployed steelworkers of "The Fully Monty," by comparison, are sympathetic, endearing, even lovable blokes. You laugh with them, not at them. And because they actually try to do something about their plight--earning, in Gaz's case, enough money to be able to pay child support to see his son--you wind up rooting for them, no matter how ill-advised their scheme might seem.
The scene at the Job Centre is even funnier in context than it is in the trailer: a gangly line of shiftless factory workers starts shifting, slowly and instinctively bumping and grinding in unison to Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" wafting in over the loudspeakers. It's a wonderful moment of perfect comic timing.
Simon Beaufoy's script touches on some serious matters (such as the objectification of women, when the guys realize that the audience might find them as lacking as they find some of the models in the girlie magazines), but doesn't let these get in the way of the tomfoolery. It's a wise decision. Carlyle is solid as Gaz, but more impressive are Addy, and Tom Wilkinson as their former foreman, the garden gnome-fancying Gerald, who teaches the boys a step or two. Addy and Wilkinson skillfully portray men who's self-esteem has been badly bruised and it's these honest characterizations, coupled with a breezy, easygoing style that make "The Full Monty" as infectious as a Donna Summer disco hit.
It's sure to leave a silly grin on your face.
-- David N. Butterworth dnb@mail.med.upenn.edu
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