THE FULL MONTY (1997) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: Paul Cattaneo Writer: Simon Beaufoy Starring: Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Paul Barber, Steve Huison, Hugo Spier
"The Full Monty" is another one of those comedies from England that put American comedies to shame. Yes, we make funny movies over here, but there's almost no debate that British cinema is funnier than American. And "The Full Monty" is a prime example of that. It's not only a funny film, but it's surprisingly engaging, touching, and, well, revealing. It's not the greatest film in the world, but it proves that even the most cringe-inducing idea can be funny as hell.
"The Full Monty" deals with a group of urban Englishmen who were all laid off from a once-prominent steel factory and are all seeking jobs. Their group "job club" meetings are pretty much wasted, with the old foreman seeming to be the only one with any aptitude to get a job. In fact, the other guys waste time by trying to steel from the closed factory, and even one of them is up for a bit of suicide.
The protagonist of the film (Robert Carlyle) comes up with a plan to exploit his town's apparently popular Chippendales entertainment by seeing if this group of normal-looking men (one of them actually being quite fat) can raise money by stripping in an elaborate club, much like Chippendales, all to hokey music and nice spotlights. In an American comedy, this would probably star Chris Farley and have him running into a wall repeatedly and screaming at the top of his lungs for no reason whatsoever.
But since Brits made this, and since Brits do have a better sense of humor (it's a fact, okay?), this film is funnier more often, and also has a bit of a brain. Yes, this is a lovely concept for a comedy, but it takes some intelligence to bring it to the screen in a good fashion, and make the concept work out fully. Luckily this film does.
There are six men who end up being in the dance/strip group, and they are all explored interestingly. They're not all explored in fullness, but nevertheless interestingly. The protagonist is a divorced father who's wife has remarried some jerk, and who has a kind of buddie-buddie relationship with his son, who hangs with him like they were chaps. He is, however, in danger of losing him due to a bit of a custody battle, and needs some money to pay for it. Hence, his motivation for getting into this, other than paying for his smokes.
There's also a fat guy (Mark Addy), who is characterized as being rather self-concious about his weight (and with good reason), and being a bit suspicious of his much-thinner wife, who flirts with other men and likes them Chippendales. Then there's the ex-foreman (Tom Wilkinson) who hasn't even told his wife he was fired six months ago, and who can actually dance. And there's also a rather quiet and lonely suicidal guy who still lives with his mother (Tom Huison); an old black man mysteriously nicknamed "Horse," (Paul Barber) who used to be quite the break dancer; and a kind of studly guy (Hugo Speer) who can't dance, can't sing, but who's favorite movie is "Singin' in the Rain" and also has another formidable quality which is helpful in their "mission."
The ending of this film would be anti-climactic in a lesser film, but here it's the high point, and it reaches it nicely. It builds up to the ending, and when it happens it not only delivers but adds some element of surprise (will the men actually go "the full monty," if you know what I mean, nudge, nudge). And there are scenes that are absolutely hysterically funny.
The acting is very good too. The best performances come from Mark Addy as the insecure fat man, and Tom Wilkinson as the former foreman who starts off as tough and distanced (he was the foreman, man), but eventually assimilates into their little microcosm. But the film is stolen by Robert Carlyle, who has the lead and does it so well. He is a bit immature, but has a kid who is more of a buddie to him than a son, and who he kind of looks at as a peer (at one point when his son is kind of ashamed of him, he comes across not only as being hurt since he's the kid's father, but also as a friend). Carlyle, you might remember, was also brilliant as Begbie in last year's "Trainspotting," a role exactly 180 degrees away from this one. To play a drunken asswhole then turn around to play a somewhat immature divorced father/stripper just shows that Carlyle is a great actor.
"The Full Monty" is funny as hell, but it's not totally funny. There are touches of melodrama (will the fat guy strip?), and the occasional dramatic scene (a funny scene results in a bit of crying from one of the strippers). But overall, this film is hilarious, well-written, and just-plain great. And, the Brits are still funnier than us.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***
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