The Full Monty (1977)
Directed by Peter Cattaneo. Cast: Gary (Robert Carlyle); Dave (Mark Addy); Nathan (William Shape); Lompen (Steve Hudson); Gerald (Tom Wilkinson); Horse (Paul Barber); Guy (Hugo Speer); Jean (Lesley Sharp). UK. Color. 95 minutes.
Reviewed by Tad Abbey, SUNY Fredonia
Every once in a while a film is released that makes a person use every feeling in the spectrum of emotion. The Full Monty is a film, which does this in a very beautiful and special way. The movie is about six steelworkers who are unemployed and desperately looking for jobs. After seeing how lucrative male stripping can be, they decide to show the full monty. In England, showing the full monty is a term for a man displaying his penis. The film's story is superbly scripted to show what makes these men take off their clothes.
From the begging of the film, the audience is shown how downtrodden life has become in Sheffield, England. The characters also have their own problems to deal with. One is trying to win back the custody of his son, while another is paying for his wife's spending with no income to pay for it. Now it is easy to see how the options for the unskilled labor in this town are few and far between. So stripping in front of women for ten thousand dollars starts to look like a damn good idea.
The cast is very well put together in order show the variety of the characters. From Gary the ex-con, to Horse, the older gentleman who claims he used to be able to break dance. The six of them come together in their hopelessness to form a brotherhood. United they are one group of men performing an art of stripping. With one of them missing, they fall apart. Their brotherhood helps show the prominent theme of men and women's sex roles in society. The six question their adequacy in society. From how they look to the size of their penises.
It is difficult in film to question the roles of men and women in society, but The Full Monty, pulls it off well. (They pull their clothes off well too.) Women are always expected to be beautiful and sensuous. The Full Monty shows that men can be that way too. These are not men who enjoy admiring the latest fashion trends, or even try to look good. These are steelworkers, and they know how to turn women on. Women have no problems getting men in the mood. Men, however, sometimes have difficulty arousing women. Hence, the comedic element in The Full Monty. Six who men are trying to turn women on for money.
I have seen most of the Oscar contenders for Best Picture this year. Most will make you cry, and some will make you laugh. The Full Monty is able to do both in a very hmm..mmm uplifting way.
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