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| Nudity is the best Medicine in `Monty' |
|
by Jett McAllister
What happens when a steel mill in Yorkshire closes, leaving all its workers jobless? In The Full Monty , six workers take the Club 13 approach by baring it all, but this time to please the ladies, or at least make them laugh. But the ladies are not the only ones laughing -- all viewers will find this boisterous comedy amusing. Robert Carlyle ( Priest , Trainspot-ting ) plays Gaz, a recently unemployed mill worker. Mandy (Emily Woof), Gaz's ex-wife, demands that he pay [[sterling]]700 in child support to keep joint custody of their son, Nathan (9-year-old William Snape). Gaz, together with his unemployed and overweight compadre Dave (Mark Addy), hatches a plot to make it big by taking it all off, that is, by going the "full monty" in a strip routine. With another former mill worker, a suicidal security guard, a conservative middle-aged ex-foreman as choreographer and an older random recruit, they set themselves stripping to the music of Diana Ross. The "dancers," after conquering their inhibitions, find themselves beset with mishaps as they face arrest, embarrassment and bankruptcy. The cast is flat out hilarious without being overbearing. Carlyle finds the perfect medium between seriousness and silliness that makes him, although not highly memorable, credible. Mark Addy's performance as the self-conscious heavyweight is one of the most intriguing of the movie, even though his acting is a little awkward and absurd. Snape, the enterprising, confident son who accompanies the six strippers throughout their adventures, has one of the most difficult roles in the movie. Think of Snape as a mature Macaulay Culkin -- he is funny and honest, but you don't want to slap him. Although the characters are played well, Simon Beaufoy's script, at some points brilliant, lacks depth. Beaufoy provides ample space for actors to explore their characters but leaves them awkwardly in predictable situations. For example, when Dave first questions his own involvement in the plan, you just know that he's going to chicken out. The script allows the usual assortment of expected setbacks, and though they are funny, leave the movie potentially banal and boring. Even with this weakness, however, Beaufoy gives the actors enough funny lines to salvage the film. The biggest problem with The Full Monty is its complacency in simply entertaining rather than connecting with the audience. Cattaneo would rather have you laugh at them than identify with this group of friends and former co-workers. If what you want is a good laugh, this movie is great, but if you're looking for something more, you won't quite enjoy it as much. The movie is entertaining, but not memorable. Don't expect too much from the film, and you'll have a great laugh.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the September 19, 1997 issue. |
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