Movie Review: The Full Monty (1997)
Synopsis: After being unemployed for months with little hope of finding decent employment, a group of former steel workers decide to perform as male strippers despite not having the bodies associated with that type of performance. Their rehearsals go well but as word gets out about their plan, they begin having second thoughts.
Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy, Wim Snape and Paul Barber.
Review: After finally watching the television special The Real Full Monty with my wife a couple days ago, I decided it was about time for us to re-watch the movie that inspired it. As luck would have it, I already had it saved to my library, so we saw it again tonight. It is as good as I remembered it.
I'll start out by saying the premise and execution of this movie are outstanding. Watching the group of men come up with a seemingly farfetched idea and making it come to fruition was both entertaining and sometimes funny. There were also quite a few obstacles, ranging from being arrested for indecent exposure to their own self-doubts that kept their ability to succeed up in the air until the very end.
I think the thing that impresses me most about this movie though is how it is a film that remains ahead of its time when it comes to the subject of body image. Movies that addressed that were rare back in the 90s and still aren't as common today as they should be. The fact this is a movie that addresses the subject from the male perspective only makes it more unique. And believe me, as a man who is approaching 50 and could stand to lose more than a few pounds, I found it easy to relate to their insecurities.
Adding to that was the men having a bit of a double whammy when it came to the whole feeling insecure thing because they were also unemployed and were coping with the things that came with that, whether it was feeling guilty about their wife being the breadwinner or potentially losing shared custody of their son because of unpaid child support. Even today, when we're in more enlightened times (supposedly), the lack of confidence felt by the characters in this movie as a result of their money issues is still something many men would still feel.
My only real complaint about the movie, other than still sometimes having a hard time understanding what the characters are saying (I need a British English to American English translation book or something), is the movie does stop a bit short when it came to Lomper (Steve Huison) and Guy (Hugo Speer), only implying at a gay relationship rather than showing it. However, considering it was the 90s, I guess I can understand why the filmmakers did cut it off before they kissed. I'm sure if it were made today, that wouldn't happen.
Final Opinion: This is an entertaining, funny movie with a message that remains relevant even today. I'd recommend watching it if you've never seen it and re-watching it if it's been a while.
My Grade: A
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1997:
Movie Review: Jack Frost (1997)
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