The Ape (2005)

A young writer, nearing a mental breakdown caused by his family and boss, moves into an apartment occupied by a walking, talking, foul-mouthed ape in a Hawaiian shirt and Converse High Tops.

Director:

James Franco

Writers:

James Franco, Merriwether Williams

Stars:

James Franco, Brian Lally, Allison Bibicoff

Cast

Credited cast:
James Franco	...	Harry Walker
Brian Lally	...	The Ape
Allison Bibicoff	...	Cathy
Stacey Miller	...	Beth
Vince Jolivette	...	Steve
Nori Jill Phillips	...	Judy
Danny Molina	...	Raoul
David Markey	...	Flies With Eagles
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sydney DeMarco	...	Girl in office

Storyline

Human resources drone and put-upon family man Harry imagines he could be the next Dostoyevsky if he could just get a little peace and quiet. When he moves into his own apartment to craft his masterpiece, his solitude is broken by an unexpected roommate-a foul-mouthed, Hawaiian shirt-wearing gorilla, eager to share his opinions on life, love, and animal magnetism.

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Plot Keywords:

written and directed by cast member

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Taglines:

Harry Walker's life just got a little hairier.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 June 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

O Macaco

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$225,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

RabbitBandini Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Oddly Funny – original indie flick

This is a pretty funny movie. James Franco is quite a comedian, which you wouldn't know from seeing some of his darker, brooding roles. Go into it keeping in mind it is a dark comedy, mostly conversational piece, indie, odd story. Harry (Franco) rents an apartment so he can get a break from his distracting family life and finally put pen to paper. The big catch is that a gorilla is already living at the apartment. The gorilla is an actor in a suit, not a real live gorilla, which I guess I would've realized was the case if I'd looked more closely at the cover art. At first I was disappointed, because I expected there would be a real monkey in the movie. I quickly got over that because the actor in the gorilla suit was quite funny and crude.

It does get a bit repetitive and there are very few locations, so I did begin getting bored mid-way through after my initial reaction to the uniqueness of the story began to wear off. I imagine it was a hilarious stage play (which it was adapted from), but I do think it probably loses some of its charm in translation to the screen. I believe it was a one-act play, so they had to "pad" the story a bit to make it long enough to be a movie. It probably would be strongest in one-act length (45 minutes or so).

Overall, it is unique and I laughed out loud many times. You can watch it and analyze some "deeper" meaning because there are definitely layers of metaphor throughout the story…or you can just watch it and laugh.